Garage Door Opener Safety Reverse

This can create a dangerous situation.

Garage door opener safety reverse. The garage door must reverse on contact with a 11 2 inch object or a 2 by 4 board laid flat on the floor. Place an object such as a brick on the ground directly in the path of the door. Improperly operating automatic reversing mechanisms on garage door openers have caused many injuries and even deaths. Test door opener monthly.

The door should automatically reverse when it makes contact with or senses the object in its path. Activate the garage door opener to close the door on the object. All garage door openers should have a safety reverse feature. To access the controls use a stepladder to reach the main part of the opener s motor.

The weight and pressure involved in closing a garage door can cause serious injury to someone in the path of the door especially children. If the door hits an obstruction when closing a sensor in the motor head unit should feel the resistance stop trying to close the door and reverse the direction of travel and open the door completely. Failure to adjust the opener properly may cause severe injury or death. Garage door openers are designed to reverse direction when a descending garage door meets an obstruction.

If the door does not properly reverse on striking the 2 4 then the garage door opener should be disengaged until the unit is either adjusted according to the instructions in the owners manual repaired or replaced with a new garage door opener. A professional garage door service should be contacted if the homeowner is not comfortable with performing these tests repairs and adjustments. If your door does not reverse readily after contacting an obstruction the opener s sensitivity adjustment may be set improperly. Refer to the owner s manual to determine which is.

Adjust the garage door opener mechanism. See your owner s manual for how to adjust your opener s sensitivity. After adjusting either the force or the limit of travel retest the door opener. On the garage door motor there will be two knobs or dials to adjust the opener and the reverse sensor.

If you ve tested your garage door opener s auto reverse and found it requires too much force for the door to reverse or it doesn t reverse at all you can adjust the settings on the garage door opener controls.