How To Adjust Your Garage Door Safety Eyes
A new garage door can make your home more secure and appealing. Modern garage doors have a variety of different parts that keep them running efficiently. Becoming familiar with these parts is crucial when trying to stay one step ahead of garage door problems.
Garage door accidents cause over 30,000 injuries in the United States. Many of these accidents are caused by defective and misaligned door safety sensors. These sensors are designed to detect obstructions in the path of a garage door and keep the door from closing if something is in the way. Over time, these sensors will start to have alignment issues.
Adjusting your garage door safety eyes is an essential maintenance procedure. Here are some things to consider when adjusting these safety eyes.
Disconnect The Power and Loosen Sensor Screws
Before you start the process of adjusting your safety eyes, you will need to cut the power going to your garage door. If your garage door is powered with a circuit breaker, then go to your breaker box and turn-off the corresponding breaker. Once you have the power off, you need to locate your safety eyes. In most cases, they will be mounted on the track and will be around six inches above your garage floor.
These sensors will either be held in with screws or wing nuts. You will need to loosen these screws or nuts to adjust the safety eyes. Instead of taking the screws or wing nuts completely off, just loosen them to avoid allowing the sensors to fall on the ground.
Once you have loosened the mounting hardware, you should be able to slide the sensor to the bottom of the mounting bracket.
Use the String Method To Level the Sensors
Safety eyes project an infrared beam from one side of your garage door track to the other. If an object interrupts this beam, the door will not close. Getting the beam projected by your safety sensors straight and level is not easy. Once you have the sensors at the bottom of the bracket, you should tie a string between the two brackets. By doing this, you can create a straight line to level the sensors on.
If you want to ensure the string is straight, then using a line level is a wise move.
Remount the Sensors and Test Them
Once you are certain that the piece of string you have in place is level, you need to mount your sensors in line with this string. After you have the sensors back in their mounting bracket and firmly tightened, remove the string and cut back on the power to your garage door. When the power comes back on, you need to test the sensors to ensure they stop the door when obstructions are detected. If you are unable to get your garage door sensors working properly, then you need to call in Good Guys Garage Doors for help. With our assistance, you can get your garage door repaired and back in action quickly.