How to Test Your Garage Door Automatic Reverse

Garage doors are one of the most massive moving objects in your home – weighing over a thousand pounds. It means that in case of an accident, they can cause severe damage or injury.

With most houses nowadays using automatic garage doors, homeowners need to maintain both the doors and the door openers.

On average, the electric door opener opens your garage door more than two thousand times every year.

One of the essential safety features in your automatic garage door is the auto-reverse system that automatically pulls back the door if it touches an object or person.

Since this automated system works with sensors’ help, there can be issues when the garage door sensor fails to locate an object under the door – resulting in a mishap.

To test the proper functioning of your automated garage door, you can do specific tests at least once a year or before the winter season.

What type of tests can you do to check the functioning of an automatic garage door?

To maintain your garage door’s top condition, you should inspect both your garage door and the opener at least once a month. It will help you in quickly identifying any changes or alterations in the working of your garage door.

Here are the two most important tests that you can use to check its functioning:

Stationary Object Test

This test involves blocking the eye of the sensor of your garage door. You can use any stationary object like a wooden block, a paper roll, or even a small plastic bucket.

If the sensors are working correctly, it will detect the stationary object, and the garage door will refuse to descend.

The second aspect of this test is to investigate if the automatic reverse function is working. To check this, you have to use a stationary object that doesn’t block the sensor’s eye but is placed in the path of your garage door.

When the garage door descends down and touches the stationary object during this test, it should immediately reverse back. If it doesn’t, it means the automatic rollback function is malfunctioning.

Moving Object Test

To carry out this test, you can use a broom handle or a rake. After pressing your garage door’s close button, wave the broom handle in the door’s path.

As soon as the sensor detects the waving object, it signals the door to reverse back. However, if the sensor is not able to do so, it may need a replacement.

What to do if your garage door fails a test?

In most common cases, the problem is with the sensors of your garage door. To fix it, you can try to clean the sensor’s eye to make sure the beam is uninterrupted.

If the problem is in the mounting, you have to call a garage door expert to replace the malfunctioning parts and restore the door’s normal functioning.