OT- Automatic garage door in bright light

[Cap'n Jack]

To keep it aviation related, think of it as a hanger door.

One automatic garage door closes fine when it is dark or cloudy. Certain times of the day, it acts like something is blocking the light beam, and I have to hold the wall-mounted button down to close the door.

I RTFM, looked on the web- the best I can see is adjusting the sensitivity of the pressure stop (failsafe to the light beam).

I tried checking if there was something partially blocking the beam, and checking the alignment. I also tried blocking the light from outside.

Any other ideas? Why don't I ever got problems answered in the FAQs?

Thanks much!
-->Jack

 

[Let'sgoflying!]

the laser is getting blinded by the sun? Make a tubular baffle to stick on the end of the receiver?

 

[gismo]

To keep it aviation related, think of it as a hanger door.

One automatic garage door closes fine when it is dark or cloudy. Certain times of the day, it acts like something is blocking the light beam, and I have to hold the wall-mounted button down to close the door.

I RTFM, looked on the web- the best I can see is adjusting the sensitivity of the pressure stop (failsafe to the light beam).

I tried checking if there was something partially blocking the beam, and checking the alignment. I also tried blocking the light from outside.

Any other ideas? Why don't I ever got problems answered in the FAQs?

Thanks much!
-->Jack

I recall this being a fairly common problem with the newer operators that have a photoelectric safety sensor at the bottom of the door. The usual cure is to swap the two ends. One is a source and the other is a detector. Your problem is likely due to sunlight reflecting into the detector side and saturating the sensor with too mich light for it to see the intended source on the other side of the door. The first thing I'd try is to swap the source and detector to the opposite sides of the door. Many of the units available today wire the two in parallel so swapping is just a matter of moving the two boxes and reconnecting the wires already in place. If your manual says otherwise you'd have to relocate the wiring. In that case I'd try a temporary hookup first to see if swapping actually fixes the problem. Other options would be some kind of light shield (on the detector side only) and/or mounting the pair at a different height than the current one. It's also possible that there is something near the source that's reflecting sunlight into the detector and if you find a likely culpret you might be able to eliminate that source by making it reflect to somewhere else or not reflect at all. Keep in mind that even black surfaces can reflect a considerable amount of light if the angle is right.

 

[wsuffa]

And make sure the photocell beams are aligned correctly. I've seen cases where the little metal brackets get bent so the beams are no longer aligned properly. They work sometimes, but not others.

 

[mikea]

What Lance and Bill said. And they use simple infared LEDs, not laser.

I was a security contractor. We had a meter on photoelectrics you could peak at optimum alignment. I have no idea if there's a way to read what the reciever sees on these cheaper ones used with garage doors.

 

[kevin47881]

Or, if you don't have children living or visiting the house do what we did...
I zip tied both beams together and placed them on top of the opener in the unlikely event we sell the house. With the beams effectively out of comission, no problems.

 

[mikea]

Or, if you don't have children living or visiting the house do what we did...
I zip tied both beams together and placed them on top of the opener in the unlikely event we sell the house. With the beams effectively out of comission, no problems.

I think that's a violation of the consumer safety act. General Gonzales will be calling you soon.

 

[wsuffa]

I think that's a violation of the consumer safety act. General Gonzales will be calling you soon.

Right up there with ripping the "Do Not Remove This Tag Under Plenty of Law!".

Actually, if something bad occurs, the biggest issue might be a problem with the insurance company....

 

[mikea]

Right up there with ripping the "Do Not Remove This Tag Under Plenty of Law!".

Actually, if something bad occurs, the biggest issue might be a problem with the insurance company....

That the end consumer is allowed to do.

This is up there with punching out the restrictor on your gas tank so you can fill up with leaded gas, cutting out your seat belts, or buying an illegal toilet in Canada.

 

[AirBaker]

The usual cure is to swap the two ends.

Just installed a Genie brand opener. The side with the red LED was supposed to go on the side that sees the majority of sunlight.

 

[W.O'Boogie]

That the end consumer is allowed to do.

This is up there with punching out the restrictor on your gas tank so you can fill up with leaded gas, cutting out your seat belts, or buying an illegal toilet in Canada.

Uh oh.....3 for 3.

 

[Cap'n Jack]

I tried reversing the sensors- no joy. The only thing that helped was a toilet paper tube on the sensor, but the door only went further before stopping.

I have a white concrete driveway- too much reflections? I only notice the problem on weekends since it is too early/late in the day otherwise for the problem to happen.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

[mikea]

I tried reversing the sensors- no joy. The only thing that helped was a toilet paper tube on the sensor, but the door only went further before stopping.

I have a white concrete driveway- too much reflections? I only notice the problem on weekends since it is too early/late in the day otherwise for the problem to happen.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Wait. If the door stops further then it isn't the photoelectric. You'll see if you block the beam entirely the door will refuse to move at all and then only jerk a little when you insist by pushing the button.

You might try troubleshooting the beam by putting the two ends together, with a paper towel tube or somesuch.

Look for a mechanical issue like the door binding in the track as it lowers.

 

[gismo]

Wait. If the door stops further then it isn't the photoelectric. You'll see if you block the beam entirely the door will refuse to move at all and then only jerk a little when you insist by pushing the button.

Not necessarily. First, I doubt that a track friction/jamming problem would act differently at night unless it was temperature related.

If the beam is blocked while the door is closing, it will stop and possibly reverse. A good test would be to raise the two sensors up above the door so that the door blocks most light from outside or to put the sesors next to each other if the wires will reach. If the problem is light hitting the detector, the light could be reflecting off somethink on the door. The "beam" is probably infrared and many surfaces that don't appear reflective to visible light are pretty good reflectors of IR.

It's also worth noting that it's possible to make a source/detector setup that' would work with the sun illuminating the detector directly, so it may be that your's is either defective or of poor design and that a better one might work just fine.