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Two detached black sensors with recessed lenses and coiled wires lie in a tray beside a mounting bracket. — Photo-Eye Sensor Alignment or Replacement, Cameron

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Photo-Eye Sensor Alignment or Replacement in Cameron

After a cold night the door stays open until the garage warms up. There is frost on the sensor lenses and a ridge of salty slush piled against the brackets where the snow blower was parked.

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Before the door is looked at

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  1. Never bypass, tape over or relocate the sensors to make a door close; a door that reverses is reporting something worth fixing.

In plain words

By the end of the visit you have a door that closes from every control and reverses the instant the beam is broken, a sensor pair mounted level at the right height with steady indicator lights, wiring that is secured and out of harm's way, and a written note of what was found and what was changed. The technician walks you through the two tests you can repeat monthly, points out which light is which, and leaves the opener's diagnostic chart where you can find it. It is a small job that puts a large piece of your door's protection back in service.

Sound familiar?

The door will only go down while a finger stays on the wall button; let go and it stops or reverses. From the remote it opens fine but never closes, so someone has to stand in the garage every time.

How the visit goes

Photo-Eye Sensor Alignment or Replacement · Cameron

How the visit goes

Pair of cast metal cable drums, two coiled steel cables, locking pliers, a combination wrench and red-handled cutters on a wooden bench. — Cameron
  1. 1

    Ruling out sun, frost and reflections

    A sensor that misbehaves on a timetable is usually being blinded rather than broken. The technician notes which way the door faces, where the low sun reaches the floor in the morning and late afternoon, and whether a receiving lens looks into that light or into a reflection off a parked car, a white wall or fresh snow. Lenses are checked for frost, condensation and a film of salt, common in an unheated garage. A hand cupped over the receiving eye while the light is watched is a simple test: if the indicator settles when the eye is shaded, the fix is a side swap or a small hood rather than new parts.

  2. 2

    Cleaning and protecting the lenses

    Lenses are wiped with a soft cloth and a mild cleaner, never scraped, and the housings are checked for cracks that let in water. Sensors that have been sitting in the strip where slush and salt collect are raised within the permitted height range and their brackets sealed. On a wall where the wire runs exposed, a slim protective channel keeps it clear of bins and bikes. Where mice have been at the wire, the new run is routed higher along the wall and dropped straight down to each sensor. These small measures are what keep a repair from repeating the following winter.

  3. 3

    Winter habits

    In the cold months the sensors ask for a little attention. On frosty mornings give a misted lens a moment to clear rather than pressing close over and over, and wipe it with a dry cloth if it does not. Keep salt slush from building up against the brackets, since salt is what corrodes the mounts and terminals over time. Clear snow from just inside the door before closing it, and if the bottom seal has frozen to the slab, free it by hand rather than asking the opener to pull it loose. If the door closes at noon but not at nine, mention it; the low sun may be reaching the receiving eye and a shade sorts that out.

In the van

  • Wall or floor angle brackets
  • 2x4 test block
  • Receiving-eye sun shade
  • Concrete anchors
  • Protective wire channel

What affects the quote

  1. 1

    Corrosion reaching the head unit

    Where salt and water have travelled up the wire to the terminals, or the sensor terminals on the board are damaged, the repair extends beyond the pair and that is set out separately.

  2. 2

    Sun and reflection remedies

    Swapping the sensors side to side is a small addition when the wiring reaches. Fitting a shade, or extending the wire so the receiver can move, is a little more and is listed on its own.

  3. 3

    Alignment or replacement

    Cleaning, re-aiming and refastening the existing pair is the smaller job. Fitting a new matched sending and receiving pair is the larger one, and the diagnosis at the door decides which applies before the quote is settled.

Same fees day, night or weekend.

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Before you call · 0 / 3

(249) 490-5342

Photo-Eye Sensor Alignment or Replacement: questions

Advice · (249) 490-5342

What tests are done before the technician leaves?

Two, and you are invited to watch. With the door closing, an object is passed through the beam and the door has to halt and climb back to the top. A 2x4 laid flat beneath the door's centre comes next; closing onto it must make the door back off on contact. The door is also run from the wall control and a remote, the opener's warning flashes are confirmed gone, and both sensor lights are shown steady.

How do I test the sensors each month?

Start the door closing and, while it is moving, swing a broom handle through the beam low across the opening; the door should halt and travel back up. Next, put a 2x4 flat beneath the door's centre and run the door onto it; it should back off as soon as it touches. If either test fails, close the door first if you can, use it by hand with the manual release, and book a visit; do not release it if it feels heavy.

How high off the floor should the sensors sit?

Low. The industry checklist expects the beam no more than roughly 15 cm (6 in) up from the floor, so that a small child, a pet or a bicycle wheel breaks it. Both sensors are set at the same measured height and level with each other, since a difference of a couple of centimetres is enough to lose the beam. Within that rule the technician can raise them a little to keep them out of the strip where slush collects.

Kawartha Lakes, Ontario

Cameron information

Town
Cameron, Kawartha Lakes, Ontario
In business
21 years
Hours
Open 24/7 · nights, weekends and holidays, same fees
Visits
On-site assessment preferred. Request a visit or call.

What the census means at the door

56%

Older homes. About 56% of homes in Kawartha Lakes were built in 1980 or earlier, according to the 2021 Census.

Older garages tend to have lower headroom and narrower single openings, so replacement doors and openers are chosen to fit the space rather than the other way round. Measuring the header, side room and ceiling depth is the first step on every one of these visits.

84%

Mostly houses. Single-detached houses make up about 84% of homes in Kawartha Lakes (2021 Census).

Where homes are detached, the garage is frequently a workshop or storage room as well as parking, and the door may be opened dozens of times on a Saturday. Sealed-bearing rollers, protected sensors and a regular tune-up keep a hard-working door running smoothly.

Source: Statistics Canada, 2021 Census of Population

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After a cold night the door stays open until the garage warms up.

Call now · open 24/7(249) 490-5342
  • On-site assessment preferred
  • Same fees day, night or weekend
  • 21 years in business