The sensors play a valuable part in providing safety in any garage door. The garage door sensors mainly stop the door from completely closing when it detects something on the way. However, when the sensors become defective, the doors can remain open permanently. This is a great hassle. If the sensors are disconnected, the door will stop working as well. Therefore, people are left with the only option until the problem is fixed is to bypass garage door sensors. This way, the garage doors can still be used without any major problem.
For bypassing the garage door sensors, some tools may be required. They are as follows-
- Measuring tape
- Two timber pieces that can provide rest to the opened door
- Hammer
- Microfiber clothing
- Screwdriver
Ways to Bypass Garage Door Sensors
Some of the best ways to bypass garage door sensors are given below-
Cleaning Up
Cleaning up the sensors and the ground below can sometimes fix them. This happens as small particles can block the sensors and interfere in the working procedure. Using a microfiber cloth for cleaning the sensor lenses is a good idea. If there are small obstructions, cleaning up will solve it.
Checking the Sensor Positions
If the sensors are not aligned properly, they won’t work either. Since the sensors are attached to both sides of the garage door with wingnuts, these can get lose with time. Tightening the wingnuts will put the sensors back into the correct position. For LED sensors, a green light will be displayed on the proper alignment of the sensors. Tightening the brackets can also help in correctly aligning the sensors.
Checking the Wires
Sometimes sensors stop working due to damaged or loose wires. The power should be turned off for safety in case of damaged wires. Such issues should require contacting proper electricians for repair.
Closing the Door
To bypass the garage door sensors, the doors should be closed for the best results. Otherwise, the open door can suddenly fall. However, the doors cannot be closed in all situations. Even when the door is closed correctly, the sensors may remain intact.
Stopping the Open Door from Falling
If the door cannot be closed, the timber pieces should be used to hold the door open. They can be cut in the proper size and squeezed tightly with a hammer between the doors. Hence, the doors will tightly stay in place even if the sensors are bypassed.
Using Manual Mode
After that, the trolley needs to be separated from the door. Moving the trolley will put the garage door in manual mode. A bright red manual release cord will be present near the motor. If this cord is pulled down, the garage door can be opened and closed manually.
Manually Opening the Door
The red cord needs to be pulled down to open the door again. However, with heavy doors, one single person may find it hard to pull the cords all the way. Therefore, the sensors should be fixed as early as possible. If the cord is pulled towards the garage door, the connection with the trolley will be complete. Once the sensor is fixed, this can be done, and automatic mode can be used again.
Final Words
Bypassing a garage door sensor should only be done if troubleshooting is not helpful. Also, handling a garage door alone can be dangerous. It is best to contact a specialist or professional to help with this and fix the sensors quickly.
To find help from professional garage door services, one can always visit TC Garage Door and Locksmith’s website.
