Garage Door opened by itself???

[tacomama]

Good morning all, looking for advice and tips on why my garage door opened by itself.

Came home saturday, went to close the door using the wall pad and garage door starts and stops right away, lights start blinking. Did this two or three times. Went to check the sensors by the door, which were a little loose so I tightened them up and closed the door, all good. Go out next day, walk into the garage and the garage door is wide open, might have been opened all night, not sure. Luckily everything was there. Phew!

So sometime between saturday afternoon and sunday late morning, the door opened by itself and stayed open. Was thinking about what may have caused it to open and can't figure anything out. Garage door opener is a Craftsman 1/2 hp unit, about 10 years old. Never had this happen before.

Here's what I did so far:
Changed batteries in both remotes.
Reset the learning function on the motor unit which cleared any previous codes and re-synced both remotes, twice.
Checked and tightened all hardware on all tracks, door structure, sensors, motor mount and tightened up the chain, which was sagging a bit.
Looked at any visible wiring, which looks fine.
Looked at wall mounted pad and blew out any dust from it and re-installed on the wall, it was a tad loose before as it was only holding on by one screw.

Any garage door experts out there with any thoughts on this or have you had this happen to you?

Thank you.

[nast70]

I had a situation with my craftsman a couple years ago. The door would not stay closed. Check and aligned the sensors a couple times. It would not stay down. It would close, than a soon as it got down it opened up again. Turned out I had a small pebble wedged in the track that was just big enough to trigger the obstacle sensor on the door opener. The tracks were pretty built up with debris at the floor from sweeping out the garage. Might be something to check?

[sirmike68]

Is it still opening after all of your adjustments.

[tacomama]

Originally Posted by sirmike68

Is it still opening after all of your adjustments.

Not as far as I know. It did not open throughout the day yesterday when I was checking all the things on it. I was a bit paranoid yesterday night, so I locked it through the wall pad, this disables the remotes from opening or closing the door. Today, I left in the morning, closed the door with the remote in the vehicle and made sure it was down. Someone at home today luckily so they will checking it every hour or two to make sure it does not open by itself again.

[tacomama]

Originally Posted by nast70

I had a situation with my craftsman a couple years ago. The door would not stay closed. Check and aligned the sensors a couple times. It would not stay down. It would close, than a soon as it got down it opened up again. Turned out I had a small pebble wedged in the track that was just big enough to trigger the obstacle sensor on the door opener. The tracks were pretty built up with debris at the floor from sweeping out the garage. Might be something to check?

I checked the tracks and all is good. When it initially did not want to close, I would say it was definitely a loose sensor that did not line up with the one on the other side, but I fixed that and then closed the door. I thought maybe the sensor vibrated later on and opened the door so I tried that scenario as well and the door did not open. I think I can eliminate the sensors from this.

[CaberTosser]

If it is one that operates by setting the codes inside the remote, perhaps try changing the code switch settings both in your remote and on the opener, the possibility that a neighbor has the same code programmed into their remote exists.

[tacomama]

Originally Posted by CaberTosser

If it is one that operates by setting the codes inside the remote, perhaps try changing the code switch settings, the possibility that a neighbor has the same code programmed into their remote exists.

Yup, checked that too as that is exactly what happened to my parents lol.
Mine does not have the numbers you could change, it's all electronic.

[wags]

Originally Posted by tacomama

Good morning all, looking for advice and tips on why my garage door opened by itself.

Came home saturday, went to close the door using the wall pad and garage door starts and stops right away, lights start blinking. Did this two or three times. Went to check the sensors by the door, which were a little loose so I tightened them up and closed the door, all good. Go out next day, walk into the garage and the garage door is wide open, might have been opened all night, not sure. Luckily everything was there. Phew!

So sometime between saturday afternoon and sunday late morning, the door opened by itself and stayed open. Was thinking about what may have caused it to open and can't figure anything out. Garage door opener is a Craftsman 1/2 hp unit, about 10 years old. Never had this happen before.

Here's what I did so far:
Changed batteries in both remotes.
Reset the learning function on the motor unit which cleared any previous codes and re-synced both remotes, twice.
Checked and tightened all hardware on all tracks, door structure, sensors, motor mount and tightened up the chain, which was sagging a bit.
Looked at any visible wiring, which looks fine.
Looked at wall mounted pad and blew out any dust from it and re-installed on the wall, it was a tad loose before as it was only holding on by one screw.

Any garage door experts out there with any thoughts on this or have you had this happen to you?

Thank you.

I had the same. Change your frequency and it should work fine. Likely someone close to you (ish) with the same frequency.

Secondly, did you make sure it closed when you left? Possible something passed in front of the sensor as you were leaving (like a leaf) causing it to stop closing and open.

Cheers

[tacomama]

Originally Posted by wags

I had the same. Change your frequency and it should work fine. Likely someone close to you (ish) with the same frequency.

Secondly, did you make sure it closed when you left? Possible something passed in front of the sensor as you were leaving (like a leaf) causing it to stop closing and open.

Cheers

Good idea, I did read about the frequency and changing it so I will check that out too. And yes the door was closed, I was still getting a bunch of stuff out of the vehicle after the door closed.

[1899b]

Moved into a brand new home with detached garage once. Neighbour 3 doors down started opening my garage door after i installed mine. Had to change the code.

[tjm]

Most likely your photo eye if the lights are flashing try holding the wall station if it closes when u hold it the whole time door is closing it is your photo eyes

[leeelmer]

Originally Posted by tacomama

Yup, checked that too as that is exactly what happened to my parents lol.
Mine does not have the numbers you could change, it's all electronic.

This
I have heard(not saying I have done it) guys driving around and pushing there remote opener, and seeing how many doors around town would open.
There was alot(from me remembering what I was told)

[tjm]

If it’s a newer one you don’t need to change codes most new ones change Change code every time you push the remote it’s rolling code technology

[propliner]

I have the same setup and this was happening to me. I spray lubed all the wheels and hinges on the door and it's been perfect ever since. When it gets cold, there's more rolling and bending friction and the door senses too much closing pressure. Lubing all the friction parts fixes this.

There's also a small rheostat on the motor box that you can adjust to increase the pressure required before it reverses.

If the door was opening by itself after being closed for awhile, check the wife's purse and take that remote out of there 😊.

[wags]

Originally Posted by tjm

If it’s a newer one you don’t need to change codes most new ones change Change code every time you push the remote it’s rolling code technology

Don't think age has anything to do with it, mine is only two years old. Might have more to do with the manufacturer or even model you purchase.

[JB_AOL]

Every once and a while, our sensors get confused(?) if the sun is shining just right, basically shining straight into the sensor. Just requires us to hold the button as it closes. And it resets.

[fishtank]

Originally Posted by propliner

I have the same setup and this was happening to me. I spray lubed all the wheels and hinges on the door and it's been perfect ever since. When it gets cold, there's more rolling and bending friction and the door senses too much closing pressure. Lubing all the friction parts fixes this.

There's also a small rheostat on the motor box that you can adjust to increase the pressure required before it reverses.

If the door was opening by itself after being closed for awhile, check the wife's purse and take that remote out of there 😊.

this X2

[nast70]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

Every once and a while, our sensors get confused(?) if the sun is shining just right, basically shining straight into the sensor. Just requires us to hold the button as it closes. And it resets.

This happens to mine as well. Havent tried holding the button while it closes. Usually a bit of yoga to press the code outside while shading the sensor affected works. Don't know what the neighbors think when I do it. Probably looks pretty cool though. New age garage yoga!

[JWCalgary]

In my motor The lights blink in a pattern. The pattern gives the error code in the manual and what's wrong. ... maybe how to fix it



Sent from my SM-G530W using Tapatalk

[tacomama]

I believe the initial not closing issue was caused by a loose sensor, but then I fixed that and closed the door. The door then opened sometime later and I don't think the sensors would activate the opening after it's been closed for a while. I did check the manual as well for trouble shooting but nothing like a phantom opening is discussed or covered.

[Trochu]

We have issues with ours every winter. The slab heaves a small amount and the obstacle sensor is triggered and it won't close. Usually just have to make a minor adjustment.

[bruinsmaniac]

TRY SWITCHING THE SENSORS FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER.

I HAD THE EXACT SAME ISSUE. MINE IS ABOUT 10 YEARS OLD ALSO. I HAD A COUPLE GUYS LOOK AT AND THEY BOTH CAME TO SAME CONCLUSION..... NEEDS A NEW MOTOR.

IF YOU PRESS AND HOLD THE ONE BUTTON THAT IS HARD WIRED TO THE OPENER AND IT CLOSES ALL THE WAY THEN IT IS EITHER THE SENSORS OR THE ELECTRONIC BOARD IN THE OPENER IS GOING.

[william1]

Here is my fix.
The limit switch can be on the verge of activating.
Sometime just a strong wind shaking the door can trip it if its just at the verge of tripping.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/reset-g...hes-29051.html

[tacomama]

Originally Posted by william1

Here is my fix.
The limit switch can be on the verge of activating.
Sometime just a strong wind shaking the door can trip it if its just at the verge of tripping.

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/reset-g...hes-29051.html

Yea I thought this may have happened as it was a little windy that day. I will look at this possibility as well.

[tacomama]

Thank you all for all your replies by the way!

[bucksman]

mine was doing this awhile ago, it would close fully and I would go inside and come back out a couple hours later and it would be wide open, turns out it was closing too hard so it would trick itself into thinking it was closing on something, so it would open about a half a second after I drove away or went inside the house.

[theoldguy]

Originally Posted by propliner

I have the same setup and this was happening to me. I spray lubed all the wheels and hinges on the door and it's been perfect ever since. When it gets cold, there's more rolling and bending friction and the door senses too much closing pressure. Lubing all the friction parts fixes this.

There's also a small rheostat on the motor box that you can adjust to increase the pressure required before it reverses.

If the door was opening by itself after being closed for awhile, check the wife's purse and take that remote out of there 😊.

That’s a good one! I agree - keep the springs lubed a few times a year - not with WD40. Use a good one like M1 or similar.

[1cuz1]

I've seen a few power interruptions cause the doors to open.

[John d]

power interruptions X2

[Mulestalker]

Bingo! I had the same problem, bought 3 power bars with surge protection.. problem solved