Stanley Garage Door Opener Beam Sensor Components

Don't replace anything until you are are sure it is bad. My neighbor had trouble like yours and the problem was the sensor housing on one side had fallen down some. So realign the sensors until both leds are glowing.

Bob AZ

If you haven't already done it, is there a way of by-passing the sensors? Just a way of verifying that it is internal to the sensors.

Without the sensor I can open the garage door with the remote control, no problem. I can also close the door by pressing and holding the hardwired pushbutton inside the garage. The only thing I can't do right now is close the door with the remote because, by design, the opener won't close the door if it can't find the sensor.

I'm sure it isn't an alignment problem since I've tried moving the emitter directly in front of the receiver and the problem persists. I tested the wiring too, since I've heard that is also a common problem with beam sensors. It was all good.

I've been quoted $50 for a new sensor assembly. It would be a shame to replace the whole thing when replacing a $2 component might do the trick.

You obviously have isolated it to the sensors. And I expect that a $2 component is probably what it needs. Just the question if you want to spend the time of tracing out the circuit and measuring voltages. I never looked inside of those things but probably not a lot of components. I would be most suspicious of the LED.

Ask in sci.electronics.repair. If the chip is a microprocessor and it's bad, you're screwed, but I think it's a generic part, maybe a comparator, and I don't think it's failed. The most common problems with garage door sensors are cracked solder joints and broken wiring, and wires can break inside the insulation (usually where they pass through the hole in the box) but look fine from the outside.

you can check the emitter side using a digital cameras view screen. infra-red shows up as white light on them,good for checking remotes too.

jpaulson14 had written this in response to

I have the same Stanley 49522 Photo Eye beam sensor assembly, but the pins have rusted and broken off of the photo transistor, so it is no longer usable. Does anyone know the part number of the photo transistor and where I might find it? Or the wavelength of this 49522 beam assembly? I tried using a Radio Shack photo transistor with a wavelength of 850 nm but it only worked when the receiver was side by side with the sender.

Thanks, Jim

Quick diagnostic tip: try a remote control for your tv and point it at the receiver - if it flashes, you know its ok. I know this is an old thread but I came across it because my Stanley UT200 garage opener (from the 1990s) has the same issue - won't close because of a sensor issue. It opens fine, and closes if I hold down the button, but not from the remote. Quick tip for anyone trying to troubleshoot: I think its the emitter on mine that is gone. I took a remote control for my soundbar and aimed it at the receiver and it flashed when I hit the power button on the remote - this tells me its seeing infra-red light. I also tried taking a photo with my DLSR of the emitter, and no trace of light on the image (if IR leaves a trace). Anyhow, now I gotta find me a compatible emitter...

If an ordinary DLSR did not filter out IR then its photos would be degraded. Now if you had a trail camera...