How to fix a garage door sensor

Playing an important role in the safety of our properties, as well as massive convenience in our day-to-day lives, door motion sensors are an integral part of many a garage. However, when something goes wrong, understanding why it happened and how to fix it often isn’t straightforward.

Here in our How to Fix a Garage Door Sensor article, we cover the signs to look out for that something is not quite right and how to resolve them.

Signs There’s a Problem with Your Garage Door Sensor

When it comes to your garage door’s sensor, there are several indicators that you might have an issue.

Signs there’s a problem with a garage door sensor include:

• The sensor light flashing
• Garage door not closing fully
• Garage door reverses when closing
• Visibly damaged sensor or garage door

Ways to Fix Your Garage Door Sensor

If your suspicions about your garage door sensor are correct, you’ll obviously want to fix the issue. There are a variety of solutions you can try to resolve the problem.

Clean the Sensor

Located close to the ground, garage door sensors will often collect more than their fair share of dirt and dust. As such, this grimy build-up can block the sensor’s infrared beam, impacting its ability to function as intended. A quick clean around the sensor will often resolve this.

Check the Garage Door Sensors Are Aligned

A misaligned door can be easy to miss but is often straightforward to resolve once identified. First, check the sensor lights; one should be green, the one sending the light, and the other should be red, the one receiving the light.

If misaligned, the red light will typically flash and will simply require moving back into place to fix the problem.

Check the Wiring

Whether due to bad weather, pests or just general wear and tear, your sensor’s wiring can become damaged, resulting in a malfunctioning door.

Inspect the wiring for any damage, such as chewing from pests, and ensure cables are connected to the terminal. If you do find an issue and aren’t 100% confident about doing the work yourself, we highly recommend hiring a professional to undertake the work.  

Check the Power Supply

One of the more common signs there’s a problem with a garage door sensor, a lack of power doesn’t often require much to put right again.

A quick check to see whether the circuit breaker supplying power to the door has blown a fuse, and if so, flipping the switch should fix the problem. The cause may also be due to a wider power outage; if that is the case, you simply need to wait for the power to come back on.

The Sensor is Still Malfunctioning

If the above fixes haven’t resolved the problem, it might be time to call in an expert. A qualified professional should be able to identify the issue with your sensor and provide an efficient repair to get your garage door working again.

How to Fix a Broken Garage Door Sensor: Final Thoughts

Here at Alliance Garage Doors, we know that being able to identify the signs of a problem with a garage door sensor and knowing how to fix it can be incredibly helpful.

Hopefully, our How to Fix a Garage Door Sensor article has provided you with the information you need to solve the problem yourself. But if you do need professional assistance, the team here is always happy to help.

Based in Newton Abbott, we are a name you can trust for fast and effective garage door repairs. Call the team today on 0800 328 1930 or 07760 784 283 to see what we can do for you.