Sensor is aligned but garage door won't close


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Old 12-16-17, 12:33 PM
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Sensor is aligned but garage door won't close

My garage door quit closing recently. It instantly halts and the light flashes, as if something is blocking the sensor. Sometimes the sensor might get knocked out of alignment while working in there but that doesn't seem to be the case. It seems aligned, near as I can tell. I cleaned it off in case it got dirty but it still has the problem. Any idea what can be wrong? Any way to test for certain that it is aligned? I'm think maybe the sensor might have gone out but I don't know how to test that without buying another, possibly needlessly.
 
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Old 12-16-17, 12:46 PM
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Usually one sensor has a light that is always on. That's the transmitter.
The other one has a light that usually comes on when the beam is aligned correctly and not blocked. That is the receiver.
 
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Old 12-16-17, 02:00 PM
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Ok. I did notice the one light. The transmitter light is on but no matter hot much I adjust it the receiver light doesn't come on. Should it come on when it is aligned or when it is aligned and opening? I also traced the wire back to the opener and I don't see any noticeable breaks in it and it is still wired to the back properly. I guess the receiver is out. Is there anything else I could check or should I go get a new receiver?
 
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Old 12-16-17, 02:03 PM
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Pull the release cord and see if the door opens and closes easily by hand. Most openers have a torque/force sensor that will also cause it to stop. If there is too much resistance it will stop and flash to say something is wrong.
 
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Old 12-16-17, 02:06 PM
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All I can suggest that I have seen before is to undo the connections on the back of the receiver and hook them up again. The bell wire used is a solid copper wire, not stranded and sometimes can break if accidentally kicked or if you hook something on it when passing by. Also check the connections on the back of the opener unit that they are in good order.
 
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Old 12-16-17, 02:10 PM
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The aim is pretty forgiving..... as long as they're pointed pretty much at each other they should work, If you don't find a broken wire from the receiver then it is bad. They get hit, cracked and water gets in them.

The beam system is always on. The one should be always on and the other will come on when aimed.

The sensors get replaced as a pair.
 
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Old 12-16-17, 02:15 PM
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Ok, I'll replace them then. Do I have to worry about any sort of compatibility issues? All the other garage parts I've had to buy in the past all seemed pretty universal and generic. Thanks.
 
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Old 12-24-17, 10:51 AM
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I got some new sensors, the same kind I already had. I replaced them and I still have the issue. No matter how I align them, the light doesn't come on and the door won't close. I readjusted the wires were they screw into the back of the opener but that did help. Could it be the control board? I took the cover off and looked at that but there are no obvious blown components? Is there a way to test it without having to buy another? There is also a little button in the back with an LED. It flashes and clicks when I try to close the door. I pushed the button, thinking maybe I needed to reset something after installing the new sensor. The LED stays on but it didn't so anything else.

The sensor is 801CB-P and the controller board has 4 numbers:

14sr549b
14pc549b
14gr549b
14gp549b
 
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Old 12-24-17, 10:54 AM
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If one of the lights...... probably the transmitter... is lit then it really sounds like a wiring problem. Did you use completely new wiring with the sensors or did you splice to old wiring ?
 
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Old 12-24-17, 02:14 PM
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Just the old wiring. I looked it over before I bought the new sensors. It looked ok but I supposed there could be hidden damage. I was going to try that first before checking the control board. The wire that is in place is 22 gauge. I can't seem to find that locally. I can get 18 or 20 gauge but being low voltage, I don't know if a larger wire will have a negative impact.
 
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Old 12-24-17, 03:41 PM
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Either #18 or #20 would be ok. I usually 18-2 thermostat cable.
 
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Old 12-25-17, 12:57 AM
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If it makes a difference, it also stops sometimes when opening. I don't know of that would indicate a bad wire but to me it seems more indicative of a controller issue.
 
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Old 12-25-17, 10:03 AM
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The safety beam system doesn't affect the raising of the door.
The door can be opened without the beams being connected.
 
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Old 12-26-17, 05:04 AM
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Have you pulled the release cord and opened and closed the door manually? It should stay up on it's own when up. Stay closed when closed and should be relatively easy to open and close.
 
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Old 12-26-17, 01:23 PM
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I managed to track down my voltmeter. I twisted off the ends of the wires and tested the other ends. The sender wire was fine but the receiver wire wasn't a closed circuit so I guess there must have been a break that spontaneously happened. I wish I would have checked that before I got a new sensor but I guess I'll have a spare. Thanks all.
 
 

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