Sun on the photo eye. A shade fixes it, not a technician
Nothing is broken. Low sun is flooding one sensor at the same time each day.
What is probably happening
- Chamberlain explains it directly: sunlight shining into the receiving sensor (green light) can block the infrared beam from the sending eye (amber light). The opener reads that as an obstruction and will not close.
- It happens when the sun is low and lined up with the door opening, so it is seasonal and time-of-day specific.
- The same thing can happen with a bright reflection off a car bumper or a puddle.
Do this in the next five minutes
- Confirm the pattern: the door closes fine in the morning or after dark, and refuses in bright afternoon sun.
- Note which sensor has the green light. That is the receiver, and it is the one the sun is hitting.
- Shade it. A short length of pipe, a cardboard tube, or a manufacturer sun shield kit over the receiving eye. Chamberlain sells a sunblocker kit for exactly this.
- Some technicians swap the two sensors so the receiver faces away from the sun. That is a wiring job on many models, so ask before doing it yourself.
- Retest at the same time of day tomorrow.
Do not
- Do not bypass the sensors to close the door. They are the entrapment protection the CPSC has required since 1993.
- Do not move the sensors higher to get them out of the sun. DASMA and Chamberlain: no higher than 6 inches above the floor.
Who to call
Nobody, unless you want the sensors swapped side to side
A garage door company can reverse the sensor positions in a short visit, but a shade usually does the job for a few dollars.
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What it should cost
Under the cost of a service call for a shade. $150 to $250 if a technician repositions the sensors
Sensor repair range
Source: Angi, garage door repair cost, updated August 2026. View source
National published range, not a quote for your job. The full cost table for this trade is on the garage doors page.
Ask this contractor, on the phone, before anyone comes out
Tap each one as you ask it.
- Can you swap the sending and receiving eyes so the receiver faces away from the sun, and what is the charge?
- Will the sensors still sit no higher than 6 inches off the floor afterward?
End the call if
- A new opener or new sensors sold for a problem that only happens at 5pm.
- Any offer to disable the sensors.