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I’m running two OpenGarage devices, bought months apart, with identical configurations on v1.0.8 and integrated into my Homeassistant setup purely to detect car presence in a double garage.
Configuration:
Ceiling Mount
Door Threshold 0
Vehicle Threshold 150
Read Intervals 120Over a period of time my first OpenGarage distance has become totally inaccurate, although the second one reports accurate distances.
Expected readings:
1. With car, 72-75 cm
2. Without car, 223-225 cmSymptoms:
1. Very occasional reading (without car): 450cm
2. Very occasional reading (with car): 74cm
3. Usual reading (approx. 80% of the time): 3-5cmI’ve tried to resolve this behaviour with the following checks / tests:
1. Cleaned sensor and checked alignment.
2. Reset configuration and re-configured
3. Replaced USB power cable
4. Replaced USB power supply
5. Used a more powerful USB supply (now supplying 2.4a per port).I’ve also tried to re-upload the firmware via the UI, as well as downgrade via the UI – both failed.
I’d appreciate any advice at this point.
Now consistently reads 3-5cm.
I’d really appreciate some advice at this point as essentially this unit (of my two) is now useless for the purpose I purchased it for.
I’ve now been able to resolve the issue – the problem has not reappeared for the past 12 days after I dismantled it and refitted the case.
I can only assume that something shifted inside the case over a period of time after originally mounting it.I know this is an old post, but it fits my issue as well. My sensor started reading 5 cm overnight. I installed it last night and this morning the sensors are reading 5 cm, and nothing I do fixes the issue. What else can I try? Id like to use the built-in distance sensors instead of external switches, but will run a wire if needed.
More testing.
Removing the clear cover solves the issue. I can set the cover over and align the hold or the sensors, but not seat the cover on its tabs and I have no issues. Seems like this only happens when it’s up to operating temp in the garage.Photo of the raised lid:
Photo of fully seated lid:
So far, I’ve been able to fix the unit by accident. I found that if the case lid was offset, the issue went away. So I wedged some foam in the end closest to the sensor, and the problem hasn’t reoccurred.
OK that’s really strange but interesting to know. I would think that raising the lid should cause problems for the sensor as it’s more likely to be partially occluded. What happens if you completely remove the lid, is the problem gone or still there?
Thanks for responding Ray. I love this implementation, and hope to use it to its potential.
I’ve been testing more on this thing, and hove found that the modifications I made earlier worked for about a day. It seems to be strictly temperature related. I have now completely removed all of the covering, and I still get the 5-3 cm measurements from the sensors.
Here are some temp measurements:
Temp at ceiling mount point: 31 degrees C
Temp on wifi chip: 35 degrees C
Temp outside: 26 degrees COK. Sounds like the distance sensor is still having a problem. If you want you can submit a support ticket and arrange for a replacement. In the next batch we will try some different distance sensors to see if that makes any difference.
I have the same issue. Installed it 2 days ago and it’s stuck on 4cm distance. I’ve tried new usb cord and charger, as well as reflash the firmware. Taking the cover off helped for a couple hours, but then the issue comes back.
Update: sent mine in and a sensor issue was found. The unit I got back has been working now without issue for about a week or two.
Hi, just want to share my experience. I also had the 3-5cm issue after less than 1 week of usage. Today, I asked a friend to replace the distance sensor, and everything seems to work fine now. Will keep you guys posted if it starts failing again.
Starting to sound a lot like a bad batch of distance sensors 🙂
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Where did you get a replacement sensor? I’d like to buy a couple spares just in case.Thanks
So I finally sat down to look at what was wrong with the HC-SR04 sensors, and the discovery was quite interesting: it turns out it’s a capacitor on the circuit board that went bad, replacing that capacitor fixed the defective sensors. My suspicion is that this batch of sensors are technically HC-SR04P, rated for 3.3V to 5V (the original HC-SR04 is rated for 5V only). My guess is that the manufacturer assumed anyone who buy these are only using it under 3.3V (otherwise you would have chosen the original HC-SR04, which is the same price). As a result, they may have used subpar capacitors which are not rated for 5V. On OpenGarage the power pin of the distance sensor is still connected to 5V, so that may have resulted in the capacitor failing over time. This is really annoying, but at least we figured out what went wrong. We had several returned OG that had similar symptoms (distance stuck at 3 to 5cm). After replacing that capacitor they all went back to function normally. A small capacitor makes a huge deal…
Looks like mine has a faulty sensor as well. I ordered about a week or so ago and just installed it yesterday. I noticed I was getting periodic odd readings. I read the first few posts of this thread and saw that taking the acrylic casing off helps and it actually does reduce the number of bad readings but there are still some periodic bad readings. How can I open a support ticket? I didn’t originally create an account when I ordered from the opensprinkler website so I created an account today on opensprinkler but have been unable to login to the freshworks support site with those credentials.
You can use your OpenThings / OpenSprinkler login to log into freshworks. Does it not work? You can also use your Google account to log in, or Facebook, Twitter account. Finally you can also email to [email protected]
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