Does anyone know how to disable garage door sensors?

[TaddeoEG]

wow...is that something available at HD dealers? That's freakin cool, I didn't even know that existed.

Yup. Here's the kit for touring bikes but they make them for Dynas, Sportsters, and VRods as well. The 'Glide is easy since you can hide the transmitter in the fairing but with a little creativity you can do it on any bike.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/...4309148480&bmUID=1261230391022&bmLocale=en_US

 

[TaddeoEG]

The only problem with the key chain openers is if you get caught in the rain it will not work. Trust me, I know.

Was never an issue for me but if it started raining I either put it in my pocket or in the windshield bag so I can't say it ever really got wet.

 

[LonesomeSTX]

I forgot about mine hanging on my belt once.

 

[straycat]

All I can say about this issue is do what I have done in the past when I was riding a lot. Put the door clicker in a sandwich baggie and put it out of the way on the bike. Rubber bands are great as well to hold the clicker somewhere. I never had a problem ever!!! Several years back I saw the aftermath of a young kid and her new puppie hurt after a garage door came down on them. The kid lived but not her little puppie. You see..it is call an accident and they happen. You don't expect it to...but it will happen. Then.... you might get sued by a parent or a family member. Never bypass the sensors as you WILL face whatever happens. Just be careful out there, guys!!!!

 

[Legend]

My old opener was a Genie. The sensors failed. Genie is very protective of any information about their openers and the sensors are epoxy filled to make sure you don't take them apart and fix them. I mounted them on the ceiling a couple inches apart - door still wouldn't work. Genie customer disservice told me they had lots of sensor failures and they would be pleased to sell me a new pair of sensors for $10 more than a new opener (including sensors and remotes) would cost. The real solution in my case was a new opener, certainly NOT Genie! When I expanded my garage I needed a new opener for the new garage door and replaced the old one at the same time.

 

[GoodOld85BlueBalls]

I was reading that a garage door opener can push down with over 130#s of force. That is more than enough to break bones of a small child. If you must ignore safety and put your electric eyes on the celing, then test it to make sure the auto reverse works. Most people check it with a block of wood, I don't know any kids that are built like a block of wood. I suggest you use a large roll of paper towels, that way it is more like what in reality the door would come in contact with during it crushing a human child. Adjust your return so it does not overly crush the paper towels and check it yearly.

So here is what I suggest as a way to bypass your troublesome electric eyes: Remove your garage door opener and go back to doing it by hand with a key. Or get a new one and have a profesional install it for you corectly and pay to have them maintain it for you every year.

I wish you luck with it and that someone you love or care about is never one of the statistics associated with garage doors. Why even take that chance, because that is what it is no matter how you cover it with gravy.

Could you just imagine the lawsuit if something did happen with them mounted on the celing?????????
I would love to be the D.A. on the prosecuting side of that one.

 

[naford]

I heard you test a door using an empty cardboard box but a roll of paper towels will work.

 

[turtle3.0]

Back to the OP's question. Depending on the age of the opener you might not have any options. Newer openers (roughly 2000+) all have the optical sensors hard wired into the systems logic, therefore you cannot simply rewire the opener to make it work without them. Pre 2000 the openers that had sensors were only wired into teh circuit, not integrated into the logic of the opener thus could be re-wired and bypassed. The industry had to change because people were rewiring the openers and injuries resulted. Lawyers got tons of money because they proved that the openers manufactures knew that the sensors could be eliminated by someone with some electronics knowledge. So thank a lawyer for your door opener having to have those G/D optical sensors that are prone to messing up, especially at night when your wife parks her car in the garage and she doesn't notice that the door didn't shut and went back up and all your tools were missing the next day.

My advise, mount the pieces of s**t to a rafter and be done with it.

 

[914Driver]

I just mounted them about the door, but I would prefer them gone.

I installed two Crapsman openers in my garage. I took the sensors and taped them together, facing each other; and zip tied them to the top of the opener. They're out of the way and think the kiddies are safe somewhere else. I don't know if yo can make them "gone".

Ya just gotta be smarter than the safety Nazis.



Dan

 

[LonesomeSTX]

That turned out to be my only real option.

 

[heptofite]

I've got one of those openers, at around sunset we can't close the door because the light hits the sensors.

 

[LonesomeSTX]

That has to be annoying.

 

[LittleHorse]

Yup. Here's the kit for touring bikes but they make them for Dynas, Sportsters, and VRods as well. The 'Glide is easy since you can hide the transmitter in the fairing but with a little creativity you can do it on any bike.

http://www.harley-davidson.com/gma/...4309148480&bmUID=1261230391022&bmLocale=en_US

cool. I'm actually going to be buying a Sportster as soon as my current scoot sells. I've got the money sitting in the bank just waiting...the opener remote would be a nice accessory.

I was reading that a garage door opener can push down with over 130#s of force. That is more than enough to break bones of a small child. If you must ignore safety and put your electric eyes on the celing, then test it to make sure the auto reverse works. Most people check it with a block of wood, I don't know any kids that are built like a block of wood. I suggest you use a large roll of paper towels, that way it is more like what in reality the door would come in contact with during it crushing a human child. Adjust your return so it does not overly crush the paper towels and check it yearly.

So here is what I suggest as a way to bypass your troublesome electric eyes: Remove your garage door opener and go back to doing it by hand with a key. Or get a new one and have a profesional install it for you corectly and pay to have them maintain it for you every year.

I wish you luck with it and that someone you love or care about is never one of the statistics associated with garage doors. Why even take that chance, because that is what it is no matter how you cover it with gravy.

Could you just imagine the lawsuit if something did happen with them mounted on the celing?????????
I would love to be the D.A. on the prosecuting side of that one.

Are you one of those people that need to have a warning label telling you that your coffee is hot?

I feel confident everyone that's posted in here has considered the risks associated with bypassing the safety beam on their garage door opener, has made a reasonable evaluation of their specific situation and the risks presented therein, and is of full legal age to accept that risk.

 

[GoodOld85BlueBalls]

Are you one of those people that need to have a warning label telling you that your coffee is hot?

I feel confident everyone that's posted in here has considered the risks associated with bypassing the safety beam on their garage door opener, has made a reasonable evaluation of their specific situation and the risks presented therein, and is of full legal age to accept that risk.

I'm just saying with the way everything turns into a lawsuit these days, if there were ever a problem and you disabled a safety feature you'd be pretty much screwed. Also, if I were looking at buying a house and I saw that someone jerry rigged part of their house like that....I'd wonder what else they did that I can't see. Those little "handyman" kinds of things would make me worry about the previous owner. No doubt in my mind also that Ranger and Bronco II owners are very intelligent people, who would be sure to fix that obvious kind of stuff before selling a house

You can call me dad if you want to, but I am sticking to my guns on this one.
I am just saying please don't take chances. If you don't consider it one, fine, thats you, I consider it a big risk. Too many small children in my neighborhood that I consider don't have the smarts the rest of us taught our kids. I'm not here to start a flame war, just saying, not attacking. Hugs and Kumbaya.

 

[LittleHorse]

I'm just saying with the way everything turns into a lawsuit these days, if there were ever a problem and you disabled a safety feature you'd be pretty much screwed. Also, if I were looking at buying a house and I saw that someone jerry rigged part of their house like that....I'd wonder what else they did that I can't see. Those little "handyman" kinds of things would make me worry about the previous owner. No doubt in my mind also that Ranger and Bronco II owners are very intelligent people, who would be sure to fix that obvious kind of stuff before selling a house

You can call me dad if you want to, but I am sticking to my guns on this one.
I am just saying please don't take chances. If you don't consider it one, fine, thats you, I consider it a big risk. Too many small children in my neighborhood that I consider don't have the smarts the rest of us taught our kids. I'm not here to start a flame war, just saying, not attacking. Hugs and Kumbaya.

well my point was here that I don't have kids, as many others on this board do not, we are a very young group here. We also don't have nieces or nephews or friends with kids so in the two years we've lived here we have literally never had a child in our house.

When I have kids, and they get old enough to where they might be in the garage without my supervision, I may put the sensors back where they will perform a function. Until then...they're either going on the ceiling or I will figure out some way to bypass them electronically and mount them where they would normally go, so if I sell the house I'll just wire them back up instead of having to move them.