How-To do Basic Checks on a Sensor

The first thing to check is that the sensor is receiving power. This can be easily verified by ensuring that the face of the senor is illuminated. If the LEDs are not lit up, then they are not receiving power. It should look as it does below. If not lit up, check the connection of sensor-to-sensor cable as it may have become loose. Also, check the sensor cable for damage. Next check the power wiring inside the control box.

The solid blue indicates that it is not seeing a target and currently not outputting any signal. If it is green i.e. “seeing a target”, this is a problem, and the sensor may need to be reset. This should be verified from a distance to ensure it does not “see” you.

Next Step is to approach the sensor and try to "be seen" to ensure that the sensor is working as it should. Just standing in front of it is not always effective as a person is a "soft target". Recommended procedure would be to find a small flat plate of metal such as an iPhone, laptop held 4-5 inches away. Those seem to work well. Once it has detected a target, it will briefly change to solid green, then green with amber lights. This is due to the 2 second - "ON DELAY" programmed in the sensor settings.

Next step is to step away from the sensor, removing yourself and any other targets that could potentially be in its field of vision. The sensor should change from green to blue, however the two amber output lights should remain on. This is due to the “OFF-DELAY” that has been programmed into the settings. It should look as it does below.

The solid blue indicates that it is not seeing a target but outputting a signal. This is normal. If it is green i.e. “seeing a target”, this is a problem, and the sensor may need to be reset. This should be verified from a distance to ensure it does not “see” you. Wait 60 seconds.

After sixty seconds, the amber lights should shut off and the sensor should return to                solid blue i.e. no target seen, no signal being outputted. (see previous page)

*NOTE: If the sensor passes these checks and there are still issues, the next step would be to check the controls wiring, specifically the black signal wire. There’s a chance it may have become loose and or wired up to the wrong terminal. It’s a good idea to check the LED indicators on the boards as well. This may require two people, depending on the facility setup. With the iDock for example, there is an LED indicator that lights up on the expansion board when it receives an input signal from the sensor.  (see below)

This green LED indicates that DC input 2 is ON, meaning the sensor is seeing a target and providing an output signal.  The photo shown is from iDock Controller 1.0. Depending on the device the location of input light will be different.