Thread: mystery door opener

Today. Garage door would not go down very far when operator activated - it reversed and went back up.
Tried again later and worked ok. Only difference - sun was shining on the sensors the first time. Have you ever????

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Originally Posted by Richard Stanley

Today. Garage door would not go down very far when operator activated - it reversed and went back up.
Tried again later and worked ok. Only difference - sun was shining on the sensors the first time. Have you ever????

Should not make any difference with the electric eyes, but the sun could have been heating the door and making it bind a little in the frame. Another thought is that the door is out of balance, this is pretty common. If you pull the handle on the door carrier to release the door from the opener, you should be able to raise the door by hand and it will stay at the halfway open postion if it is in balance. If it falls back down or goes all the way up, it is not in balance. Everyone does check this on garage doors, don't ya!

Sun or no sun, random reversals are a sign of a problem. Sometimes it works when the temp is below 70, or after 7:00 PM, etc, etc.

And the door opens smooth as silk by hand.

Repairs will exceed replacement costs, but nonetheless, its toast.

I had a nice long reply but the internet connection lost it in cyber space, so instead of retyping it all, simply put is: Yes, the sun CAN affect a garage door closer and make it auto reverse ... IT DOES mine at certain times of the year and certain times of those mornings.

Yep, see it on occasion. but none-the-less, it is a problem to the buyer.

Originally Posted by Jim Luttrall

Yep, see it on occasion. but none-the-less, it is a problem to the buyer.

The way I've seen this repaired is, the customer puts part, [3-4" ] of a TP or paper towel cardboard roll over the eyes.

i had a call back the other day for the same problem. there is an adjustment on the back of the unit that will increase or decrease the amount of tension needed to reverse the door when it hits an obstruction. I adjusted the door, no more problems.

Originally Posted by stanley frost

i had a call back the other day for the same problem. there is an adjustment on the back of the unit that will increase or decrease the amount of tension needed to reverse the door when it hits an obstruction. I adjusted the door, no more problems.

My problem is not that of tension or resistance in the door movement, but of the sun striking the sensor/reflector at just the wrong angle.

During a certain times of the year, and certain times of the morning, the sun will strike the sensor/reflector and not allow the door to close, it triggers the auto reverse and opens the door.

I have found that I have but three options: a) stand inside the garage and hold the operator button until the door goes all the way down (holding the button overrides the auto reverse feature), then either go around and out the front door or the rear door to my car outside in the driveway; b) place one of our garbage cans strategically so it casts a shadow from the sun over the sensor/reflector, which then allows the door to close normally; c) leave 30 minutes earlier or 30 minutes later, allowing the sun to move enough to not cause that problem as it seems to only be in a narrow time of where the sun is aligned with respect to the sensor/reflector.

I have had this happen with the sensors on high speed commercial doors the sun would strike the sensor and the door would not operate. After trouble shooting the problem was solved with a short peice of pvc added to the sensor allowing the beam to shine thru and keeping the sun out.

Easy fix, reverse the sensor positions, one is a transmitter and one is a receiver.

The sensor for the garage door is an IR sensor, so yes, direct sunlight can cause it to be unpredictable.

"After trouble shooting the problem was solved with a short peice of pvc added to the sensor allowing the beam to shine thru and keeping the sun out."

That should work well. Anything that will block the Sun.

Originally Posted by Scott Patterson

Should not make any difference with the electric eyes, but the sun could have been heating the door and making it bind a little in the frame. Another thought is that the door is out of balance, this is pretty common. If you pull the handle on the door carrier to release the door from the opener, you should be able to raise the door by hand and it will stay at the halfway open postion if it is in balance. If it falls back down or goes all the way up, it is not in balance. Everyone does check this on garage doors, don't ya!

Hi folks, I haven't posted in a while.

Yes I always check the balance. I learned years ago to only pull the release rope when the door is closed. Had a wood/laminate door slam shut when I pulled the cord while it was open. The door was so heavy and came down so fast that if anyone had been under that door it could have killed them.

Lessons learned! Thanks,

Wes in 'Bama