Question about garage door openers?

truckemup97

truckemup97

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Mom called this morning and said when she got up, both garage doors were wide open. She specifically remembers closing the only open door after she pulled her car in last night. Had it been one door open, I'd say she forgot, or maybe hit the button twice, causing it to stop once it started down.

Nothing in the garage seems to have been disturbed. There is a heavy entry door from the garage to the house with a deadbolt (locked) connected to the alarm. No one appears to have tried to get in.

Back in the late '70s, our garage door would occasionally open on it's own, along with others in the area. I remember being told that it had something to do with the AWACs flying out of Tinker AFB. I haven't heard anything about that in 30 years, so I wouldn't think it was a problem anymore.

So what could cause both doors to open on their own?
 
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If the buttons are next to each other she may have hit the wrong one and just didn't notice.I do stuff like this all the time and I'm not even 60 yet...
 
If it is an older garage door opener it could be someone driving down the street with an opener randomly trying each door. There used to be a limited number of combinations available and it wasn't uncommon for two people in the same neighborhood to have the same configuration. Newer models use a random code setup and the combination changes every time it is activated. I am sure a door mechanic will see this an straighten you out. I did not physically install them, but was a multi-family and commercial construction superintendent for 40 years and dealt with this issue many times in apartment and condo projects with several hundred units.
 
I worked with a guy that told me they had a ghost in their house that used to open doors, turn on lights and such. Said each person in the family had seen the ghost at one time or another. Garage door opening was supposed to be one of the favorites of the ghost. Second favorite was turning on lights.

I don't know but it gives me a little chill each time I tell that story.
 
I'm going to say she hit the other button, and instead of it closing the open door she opened the closed door again.

However garage doors work on a RF signal. Something in the area could have triggered them to open. Some have a rolling code meaning it changes every time you use the remote. Some older ones use a four position four row set switch.

She could try resetting the remotes. See if this helps before spending any money. She would most likely find the reset or code switches behind the light cover on the unit. If it does have the four code switches she would need to take the remotes apart as well.
 
25elk said:
If it is an older garage door opener it could be someone driving down the street with an opener randomly trying each door. There used to be a limited number of combinations available and it wasn't uncommon for two people in the same neighborhood to have the same configuration. Newer models use a random code setup and the combination changes every time it is activated. I am sure a door mechanic will see this an straighten you out. I did not physically install them, but was a multi-family and commercial construction superintendent for 40 years and dealt with this issue many times in apartment and condo projects with several hundred units.
Click to expand...

This may be the answer. I have an old door opener and was concerned about others opening our garage door. So I drove around the area testing other garage doors. Sure enough, about a block away, I was able to open a door. I changed the combination on our motor and remote. Perhaps this might help.
 
Check the remotes. When the batteries started going bad in mine it would do that. It only happened a couple of times but if the batteries are getting corroded it will cause that. I watched that stupid door go up and down by itself several times before I figured it out. The remote wasn't even in the car.
 
Without knowing the age of the openers or your Mother ;) (no offense)it is hard to say. Posts above cover it all.

In the meantime wrap the unit in aluminum foil, UFOs flying over are a probable cause.:D

Heck I have been a mile from home and do the "did I close the door?" and turn around to find it open, sometimes closed.
 
Mom's 68 (I'll call you a liar if you tell her I said that ;)) and the openers are late '90's according to the guy who serviced them a couple years ago.
 
25elk said:
If it is an older garage door opener it could be someone driving down the street with an opener randomly trying each door.
Click to expand...

I'm going to say that's probably not it. Both doors were open (what are the chances they guessed right on BOTH?) and the garage is around back. You have to be nearly to the back of the property to be able to see the garage doors.

Right now I'm leaning toward her hitting the wrong button and opening the closed door instead of closing the open door. I wasn't there, so I don't know if she waited and watched to be sure it was closed or if she just hit the button, heard the noise and went into the house.

Would anything electrical cause it? A power surge or something like that?
 
I have a policy I'm trying to instill in my own wife. I stand and watch the door go down. Then I leave, but not until. Our garage door faces west, and the sun sometimes blinds or stuns the electric eye sensors. It then makes them go back up. Sometimes they get almost all the way down, then reverse. Since I hate government mandated "safety" features, I'm toying with the idea of moving the "eyes" up above the door. Might not be as safe, but sure would make our lives easier.

Electric door openers are supposed to make things better, but they seem to develop little glitches that seriously erode their benefits.

I even have a son who feels he lives in a nice neighborhood, so he can just leave the door open at night.
 
I have a fireplace with gas logs and remote control to turn it on and off. My neighbor had a motorcycle and many times when he came by my house, my fireplace would come on. Something on the motorcycle was sending the same frequency as the remote, what that was, I don't know. Something sending the frequency of the garage door opener could have opened the doors.
 
Doorbell

When my neighbor opens his RF garage door it triggers my wireless doorbell. I've learned to adapt but still funky from time-to-time.
 
Since it was both doors open, I am guessing you are right, she hit the wrong button. I had problems with mine (2 years old) if I laid an extension cord on the floor the door would come down and hit the cord and reverse. of course by then I was out of the driveway. If something gets moved in front of the electric eyes it will never close, but it doesn't go partway down, it grunts and starts to flash the light.
 
Random RF can set them off. We came in the house one night I stood and watched the doors close then I went inside. Several minutes later I heard the gauge door opener running and jumped up and ran out to the garage. Both doors were open, no one around. I think it was the planes in the area. We live by an airport. My wife's door every now and then would open, mine wouldn't. They were on different codes. I changed hers and it hasn't happened again and it's been many many years gone by. I also have two motorcycles in the garage and at least once a week one of them goes off day or night. Garage is closed up tight when this happens. It's been going on now for 13 years. Stray RF signal on the same frequency can open them. Thieves use a frequency scaner to open them.
 
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Most openers have internal sensors that will reverse the door if it comes down on something blocking the door....car, child, etc. If the torque and closed limits are set too close to the limit, when the door contacts the floor, the opener can be fooled into thinking it hit an obstacle and will auto reverse and go back to full open. I've had this happen three or four time over the 30 years we have had openers, and had to readjust the limits. I got into the habit of watching the doors close and make sure they stay closed.
 
Our garage door began spontaneously opening. By coincidence I noticed the UPS truck next door when the driver rang their doorbell. Our door opened. Ours allows a code change and that took care of it.
Also, the new doors, at least in WI, MUST have a feature where if they encounter an object disturbing a sensor light at the bottom, they automatically open; it's a child protection feature. If that light is out of alignment, just the vibration of the door when it moves can interrupt the connection for a moment, and UP goes the door.
We've taken to watching it go fully closed before leaving.
 
Unless the openers in question were built prior to 1990 they are digital and not analog. As such, it would be very unlikely for someone to have opened her doors with a randomly programmed remote. The radio signal is no longer what opens the door it is a small bit of computer data that actually initiates the opener. Even if both openers are pre 1990, they should be on different codes, and not open to the same remote. I would agree that mom probably hit the wrong button. Most people never look back to see if the door is closed before going into the home and this is a great example of why one should verify that the door is closed. It is extremely unlikely, though not unheard of, that both openers would malfunction at the exact same time. Make sure they are both closed and keep an eye on them over the next couple of days. If there are no phantom openings, then operator, read mom, error is the culprit. If you continue to have problems, send me a PM and I will help how I can. BTW, I have been in the business for over 25 years and have never seen a "code grabber" despite looking for one. There is a very simple explanation of that rumor and it has nothing to do with thieves.
RichH
Cactus Garage Doors Inc.
Mesa, AZ
 
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Garage door openers

All of the above related incidents are quite plausible, with all of the random RF that is floating around.....SOP for me at night, is to verify my doors are down and then I have a regular light switch wired into the line voltage for the operators and I shut them off....
 
loc n load said:
All of the above related incidents are quite plausible, with all of the random RF that is floating around.....SOP for me at night, is to verify my doors are down and then I have a regular light switch wired into the line voltage for the operators and I shut them off....
Click to expand...

There is a device you can buy that you install on your doors that will let you know if the doors are open or closed. It transmits a wireless signal to the receiver that you mount in the room of your choice. It has colored led lights to indicate the door position. You wouldn't have to keep checking the doors with this. Very inexpensive and compact.
Here is one kind available, there are others out there. http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/203445...toreId=10051&N=5yc1v&R=203445970#.UWghb8u9KSM
 
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