Eliminate Garage door sensors?

[AndyL]

... I'm doing my best to stfu ...

But if you're considering bypassing safeties - give your head a shake, and make sure you've got assloads of insurance - including stupid owner coverage.

Please don't make me have to look at more pictures of infants/toddlers who've been crushed by doors / gates (yes I do consultation on these cases). It happens, nobody ever wants it to happen, nobody ever thinks it could happen to them... Yet there are 100-200 incidents every year...

 

[Skier-24]

Just flippin' amazing.
In five and a half years this thread was open, there was only one intelligent answer.
Thank you Motes. But plenty of folks had to chime in about how "unsafe" it would be without the sensors.
As far as "Yet there are 100-200 incidents every year... ", this can be summed up by the lyrics of the song, "Flagpole Sitter".

Only stupid people are breeding.

 

[fedupwithbiggovernment]

Another alternative for some: I happen to have two garage doors with two openers and sets of sensors. My transmitter failed on one door, the receiver sensor was still good. I simply moved the receiver right next to the receiver on the working side. The transmitter beam is broad enough to light up both receivers. Works perfectly, saves me $45 plus gas and hassle to drive 20 miles to a Sears part store. Yes, the resistance safety still works fine on the door with no beam sensor. All is well. Note: I am so done with government regulation.....anything I can do to "bypass" the tyranny that is upon us, I will do.

 

[istephen]

Maybe not an intermittent short. Maybe it is the sun?

At my place, at a certain time of late afternoon during a certain period of days in the spring/fall when the sun is setting in the right place, My garage door will not go down.

Yep. The sun beams right into the sensor just right and renders it stupid. If I stand outside the garage and cast my shadow onto the sensor, the door operates normally with a remote opener.

Maybe the intermittent short is really a sun on the sensor thing that can be fixed with shade hoods or just try to close the door 15 minutes later. Decision to disable the sensors may not be required.

 

[ATC]

Well since this is back up...

I grew up in a house that had an attached 2-car garage with a single, 16' long SOLID wood door. It had no sensors on it, and somehow I survived.

Safety features (across the board, not just garage doors) generally cause more headache then they are worth IMO. In this case, the OP has no kids, no animals, and no neighboring kids to really worry about. He has every reason to disable this "safety" feature which was giving him trouble (and a potential security risk). If it comes time to sell the house, hook them back up and be done.

 

[Interex]

Toilet paper rolls work great for issues with sun shining directly on sensors.

 

[myliverwurst]

Well since this is back up...

I grew up in a house that had an attached 2-car garage with a single, 16' long SOLID wood door. It had no sensors on it, and somehow I survived.

Safety features (across the board, not just garage doors) generally cause more headache then they are worth IMO. In this case, the OP has no kids, no animals, and no neighboring kids to really worry about. He has every reason to disable this "safety" feature which was giving him trouble (and a potential security risk). If it comes time to sell the house, hook them back up and be done.

Couldn't agree more. For how many decades did we manage to exist without sensors... that have a track record for being unreliable (aka cheaply built).

I challenge the whole premise that the govt should be dictating what is or isn't safe. Since when have they proven that they have the capacity to do much of anything without screwing it up completely.

My guess is that these didn't come about because of a safety issue, more likely that some lobby somewhere decided that if they could con Congress into legislating safety that they would sell a lot more of these things. For similar examples think light bulbs and lawn mowers. How many bypass their idiotic lawn mower safety equipment with a zip tie or small spring clamp?

These 'safety' requirements have done nothing but increase costs to the consumer and made products less reliable. Besides, the sensor only works if something is in that tiny little space where the beam exists.

This ends up being the same old argument as the speed cams...it's all about safety (coughrevenuecough)...and nothing more. You can no more legislate safety then you can morality....

my .02

 

[rslaback]

2 things to add to a very old thread:

1. To those of you who comment something to the tune of "when we were kids we didn't have this and we survived." I would remind you that maybe you did, but not everyone did.

2. If getting into the attic to rewire was really the issue, use a produce like flat wire or ghost wire. They are paper thin copper strips. It surface mounts and then you paint right over it.

 

[bczygan]

I've driven a car without seatbelts.
I've poured gasoline from an ordinary can.
I've run with scissors...

I like to live on the edge.

 

[upndown]

It's all fun and games until the unthinkable happens to you or someone you know!

 

[dsprint2000]

I just cannot restrain myself from replying. I freak'n hate those sensors. So did Dad. He put both of his above the motor about 2" apart when I was young. Amazingly.... many times I darted across the path of those doors......... AND LIVED! I also rode in a car without a carseat and seatbelt, rode motorcycles without wearing a helmet, rode my bike and skateboard w/o helmets and pads...... you get the point.

How many millions of doors are out there..... exactly. Freak'n hate having the gov't tell me about how to live my life. A properly adjusted force limit is all that is needed.

Spare me the BS about 'you'll be the first to sue' and 'if it happens you'll be sorry'.... garage door safety is not high on my list as it works properly.....

David

 

[DCarr]

I always found myself ducking under the door as it was going down and also stepping over the beam. You know, hit the wall button, run out through the door and jump in the car... What I did was remount the two electric eye things up high out of the way about 1 inch apart.

Thats what I did when I mounted my Garage door opener

 

[ADSR]

I've driven a car without seatbelts.
I've poured gasoline from an ordinary can.
I've run with scissors...

I like to live on the edge.

lol, big deal... I smoke

 

[Sureshot]

What if natural selection eliminates a few of your genes a generation or two down the line? I guess Darwin would be right????

 

[ChevyEFI]

I have left a jack or other items in the way of the door. The eyes helped. They've never hurt.

 

[JimmyTheMonkey]

I hate the sensors too. This was my solution. It allows for me to move them when I have kids. My door also kicks back up if it senses resistance.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk - now Free

 

[Twiggss]

2 things to add to a very old thread:

1. To those of you who comment something to the tune of "when we were kids we didn't have this and we survived." I would remind you that maybe you did, but not everyone did.
2. If getting into the attic to rewire was really the issue, use a produce like flat wire or ghost wire. They are paper thin copper strips. It surface mounts and then you paint right over it.

So what is wrong with natural selection?

 

[nehog]

... I also rode in a car without a carseat and seatbelt, ...

So did my sister (no carseat/seatbelt) and I can tell you that a toddler with a broken arm is no fun for either parents or the child. The only positive thing is that she barely remembers it, but had things gone even slightly differently she'd have not survived childhood.

You cannot talk to the survivors and say "Oh, it's ok..." You have to talk to those who didn't survive. The children who suffered fatal injuries due to not being restrained in a vehicle. Getting crushed under a door. And from a number of other preventable 'accidents' that need not happen in today's world.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

Another alternative for some: I happen to have two garage doors with two openers and sets of sensors. My transmitter failed on one door, the receiver sensor was still good. I simply moved the receiver right next to the receiver on the working side. The transmitter beam is broad enough to light up both receivers. Works perfectly, saves me $45 plus gas and hassle to drive 20 miles to a Sears part store. Yes, the resistance safety still works fine on the door with no beam sensor. All is well. Note: I am so done with government regulation.....anything I can do to "bypass" the tyranny that is upon us, I will do.

And you signed up to GJ just to tell us you don't like government intervention?

Charles

 

[FarmerPete]

For those who want to close the garage door without tripping the sensor, the previous owner of my house had a very simple solution. They wires a second garage door opener right inside the garage door. I can stand outside, tap the button on the inside, and the door goes down. This doesn't fix the broken sensors or misaligned sensor issues, but it does solve the practical issue that most people have. I have a keypad to open the door right outside the garage as well. It works great to open the door, but to close, it's so much faster/easier to shut the door with the button just inside. Heck, when I go out of the garage to get into a car in the driveway, I often use that button instead of my car's opener, just to save on battery usage. I can promise you that any house I move into will have this feature added.

 

[Kevin54]

Most people will put a toilet paper tube over the eye to shield from the Sun. My dads door was the same way in the afternoon in the Summer. You would have to cast a shadow on the eye to get the door to shut. Our door is up anyways from the time we are up and around until late in the evening anyways. But then again, facing East, don't need to worry about it anyways.

 

[Sparkydawg]

I found the solution. Did it on my garage door today

 

[onewheat]

If the sun shines on your sensor preventing the door from closing - change the sides that the sensors are on.

Most keypads will shut a door by just pressing "Enter" and not inputting a code. If you have one, you may not need the additional button just inside the door to stand outside and press. I shut all three of my doors by pressing one keypad button - CAKE!

Adjusting the downforce limit on an opener is child's play - so simple to do.

This is a picture of a truck that belongs to a guy than lives near a co-worker of a friend who has a cousin that knows an EMT who was in a training class with another guy who lives just two towns away from a lady who dated the guy driving this truck which happened to be caught under a garage door where the sensor malfunctioned and he sued Sears for $1.2 Billion dollars and won. Now he lives on a private island with a full-time private nurse and he has a 100,000 sq ft house with no garage doors.

 

[boomer937]

I have trouble keeping the sensors aligned. It is easy to hit them with something and knock them out of alignment. \Ideas ???

 

[RegeSullivan]

I read this thread from the beginning and can't help but wonder how many folks that disconnected the photo sensor safety device would defeat the trigger safety on their firearms.

 

[bjcouche]

There has already been a post of a circuit that "fakes" the photo eye sensors. Because I'm the electrical engineer type, I've researched how they work as well. Let me first say that I believe interfering with natural selection is a bad idea for the human race. That said I've also upon occasion, mounted these sensors facing each other near the opener.
I researched how they work, and could find little info online, so I just reverse engineered them. I was trying to do the opposite of the original poster, by trying to retrofit photo eyes to a commercial garage door that didn't support them. Not for protecting me or kids because any kid should NEVER be left unsupervised in a shop full of power tools and sharp objects, but for protecting a vehicle from being dented if I didn't pull in far enough.
Anyhow, These sensors are quite cunning. IF you short the wires, the door opens. If you disconnect them, the door opens. There are only 2 wires and both the transmitter and sensor connect to the two wires in parallel. The polarity of the wires doesn't even matter in most cases.
The transmitter uses power supplied on the wires to shine light to the receiver. The receiver also uses power on these wires to senses the light beam. When it senses the light beam it transmits pulse train data back to the opener. The receiver generates this pulse train data by shorting the two power wires together, essentially shorting it's own power supply. Both the transmitter and receiver have the ability to "ride through" this temporary power loss. The door opener looks for this pulse train and if it is missing, reverses the door and opens it. Thus whether you short or disconnect the wires, the pulse train will be gone and the door won't close.
Different manufacturers use different pulse train frequencies, so you would have to know what the specific frequency was in order to fake the signal.
What I did was to buy a set of replacement sensors and design a simple circuit utilizing a tiny $2.00 microcontroller to supply power to the transmitter and monitor the pulse train of the receiver. When the pulse train was lost, (sensors blocked) the circuit closes a relay and reverses the garage door opener. Now I have a commercial garage door opener (which initially didn't support sensors) that utilizes the new style sensors.

 

[rjparker]

What I did was to buy a set of replacement sensors and design a simple circuit utilizing a tiny $2.00 microcontroller to supply power to the transmitter and monitor the pulse train of the receiver. When the pulse train was lost, (sensors blocked) the circuit closes a relay and reverses the garage door opener. Now I have a commercial garage door opener (which initially didn't support sensors) that utilizes the new style sensors.

Any chance I could get a copy of the retrofit circuit for an opener without sensors?

 

[1982shawn]

The 555B is a 555 Timer, the main component, which cost $1-$2, the rest of the components, 5 resistors, 2 capacitors, 2 mosfets, and 1 diode, probably cost around $3-$4, so about $5 instead of $50 and the bypasser should last indefinitely.

Be sure to check all laws and neighborhood codes first, of course. This circuit is for educational purposes, solely.

Does anyone know what the value of the resister in the upper right hand corner of Notes schematic is?

 

[ADSR]

Does anyone know what the value of the resister in the upper right hand corner of Notes schematic is?

I don't. But if you build this, please let us know how it goes.

 

[lakeroadster]

Yes, as a matter of fact...I HAVE disconnected and removed the airbags from all of my cars that came with them.

Really?

Do you tell your passengers about that BEFORE they get in the vehicle?

(Yeah, I know, it's a really old thread)

 

[ADSR]

Really?

Do you tell your passengers about that BEFORE they get in the vehicle?

(Yeah, I know, it's a really old thread)

air bags are great, if you don't use the seat belt.

 

[lakeroadster]

air bags are great, if you don't use the seat belt.

And air bags are great, if you do use the seat belt.

Air bags just may prevent serious head trauma, which in turn may keep you from drooling all over yourself and being fed from an IV the rest of your life.... which is, well, pretty great.

 

[Dhagan887]

Did not read the thread, but if you wish to bypass, I have lined them up, duct tape them together and zip tied them to the closer before. I don't remember the reasoning honestly, but my current set is still operational as intended

 

[nehog]

Does anyone know what the value of the resister in the upper right hand corner of Notes schematic is?

I don't. But if you build this, please let us know how it goes.

One ohm, used to 'fool' the software that was used to design the circuit. The software generates an error as there is no load, and the transistor 'shorts' the power rails (which actually is intended...) AFAIK, it can be removed.

 

[PeterT]

I just short mine out, I don't need no stinkin sensors & I drive a 74 ford, so I don't need no stinkin air bags either

 

[kbs2244]

This is way over engineering.
Just stick them into a toilet paper tube and use some black tape to hold them.
The whole assembly can be zip tied to the motor mounting brackets.

 

[upndown]

This is way over engineering.
Just stick them into a toilet paper tube and use some black tape to hold them.
The whole assembly can be zip tied to the motor mounting brackets.

Yep! Explain that one to the authorities and insurance companies. The harm that can cause especially to children is no joke! And why, because your momentarily inconvenienced?

 

[kbs2244]

If he is to the point of building an electronic "bypasser" he is well past any moral or legal concerns.

 

[bubinga]

Hey... we are better Craftsman than a toilet paper roll... LOL make a nice little metal bracket at least LOL and use a zip tie... LOL

Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk

 

[JJThrasher]

To answer the question all the ones I have seen are two wire setups, so just unplug it and if the door won't work short the wires together. One or the other has always worked for me.