My electric sectional garage door has started opening of its own accord (motoring link!). As arrived home from work this evening the door started to open as I swung onto the drive before I had a chance to press the remote. Also, after leaving the house this morning, and I distinctly remember closing it, the door was open a few minutes later when my wife and son left the house.
Any ideas? Is it some sort of signal from passing cars etc? I'm worried because the garage is integral to the house.
Thanks
Pat
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Maybe obvious......
Do you know where your spare blipper is? Could be in a drawer etc with something pressing on the button?
Or, one of your neighbours has a similar garage opener and its operating yours.
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Macker,
I know where the spare remote is and I don't think anyone/thing has touched it.
Thanks for the reply, though.
Pat
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Does the remote send out an infra red signal or is it radio signal? you can usually tell if it is infra red because it will have what looks like a dark bulb on the end of it much like a tv remote. If it is a radio transmitted signal it could be triggered possibly by a car remote although different frequencies are allocated for diferent applications so I could be wrong there. If it is controlled by infra red the transmitter has to be in line of sight to the reciever module so it is unlikely to be accidently triggered.
Mal.
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I don't know about electric garage doors in detail, but my first thought would be that a small microswitch somewhere - either in the motor unit itself or on the door linkage somewhere - is not closing properly. Possibly a slight vibration (wind, traffic etc) is moving the door a little and shifting this microswitch.
Another possibility might be a fault in the sensor or wiring to the sensor. If you can find it and check for damage to wiring etc that might locate the problem.
I would imagine that the sensor works at a low voltage and this in turn energises a solonoid which actually kicks the motor into life. Might be this.
Do bear in mind that I've never actually looked closely at an electric opener - I'm guessing about the likely design!
One last thought! Any chance of dampness getting into the circuits somewhere?
Hope this helps a bit, anyway.
Graeme
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Try opening the remote button box - perhaps start by opening the battery compartment. See if there's a bank of tiny micro switches lined up in a row therein. If so, you might try altering the combination (for that's what the swiches are) on both the plipper and the receiver inside the garage so that the 'code' is different.
Furthermore, fit a Chubb mortice lock on the door. This is good practice anyway, regardless of the dodgy elec. door.
KB.
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Go to a good locksmith-they sell locks designed for garage doors.
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jc....Is not the point of an electric garage door that you don't have to get out of the car to open it? Seems like defeating the object to have to manually unlock the thing then press a button to have it open for you.
KB.
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Go to a good locksmith-they sell locks designed for garage doors.
Doesn't this defeat the reason for having an electric door that can be opened from the drivers seat, instead of getting out in the rain to open it though?
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Or could it simply be a "failsafe" because the batteries at the door end are getting low?
If they're mains connected, forget I said anything :o)
Terry
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When I said ...........
\"Furthermore, fit a Chubb mortice lock on the door. This is good practice anyway, regardless of the dodgy elec. door\"..................
I did, of couse, mean the internal door - not the elec. door.
KB.
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Is this too obvious to be right?
As [I] arrived home from work this evening the door started to open as I swung onto the drive before I had a chance to press the remote.
Is the remote you're carrying constantly putting out the "open" signal, so the door opens before you actually press the button?
Also, after leavingthe house this morning, and I distinctly remember closing it, the door was open a few minutes later when my wife and
>>son left the house.
So as you drove away, the door opened again?
Any good?
Andy
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Many thanks for the responses. Sorry about the delay getting back to you.
Update - door opened as I was going up to bed (luckily heard it!) and so I phoned a mate who advised to find and switch off the power supply to keep door out of commission overnight. Will investigate further tomorrow.
Andy S - nice thought but I haven't noticed the light on. Other very possible causes. I'll try changing the coded tomorrow and take it from there. I've got a horrible feeling it's going to more complex/expensive, though!
Thanks again to all who have offered advice or ideas - very useful.
Cheers
Pat
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Pat
If you can find a contact address for the maker of the door gear (often on a label on the motor or mechanism itself maybe) Get their phone number or Email address and advise them of what's happening. Chances are they will be able to tell you straight off what's the matter.
In my experience the technical staff of manufacturers (maybe with exception of carmakers!!) are usually very approachable.
Just another thought!
Graeme
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Graeme,
Good idea. It's called a Swift Challenger (or vice versa, it's hard to tell) so I'll try to contact them. Unit is about 9 years old, installed by previous owners of ther house. Probably not what I'd spend my money on but you do get used to it and miss it when it malfunctions!
Ta
Pat
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Try these people, found by search on Google...........
www.amourelle.co.uk/multicode-tx.htm
They do spares for Swift Challenger.
KB.
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Thanks KB
I've changed the code this morning so I'm giving it a while to see if that was the problem.
Incidentally, when i went to the car in the garage this morning to get the remote I noticed that the red light was lit up on the remote (see Graeme's suggestion).
Oh well, just have to wait and see!
Pat
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If the transmitter 'Red Light' was on the chances are that the push button is sticking down, probably just mechanical wear.
Try lubricating the plastic with WD40 to make push button pop up every time. Failing that the miniature switch may have expired thro use.
This would account for the symptons you have described and will will also run your battery down fairly quickly.
If you have to replace the transmitter the chances are that since it is old it is probably operating on a now illegal frequency and will be probably difficult to source unless you can go direct to the original supplier. You can buy receivers and transmitters as a pair suitable for most automations.
Try www.garagedoorautomation.co.uk if you are N London or similar.
pmh (was peter)
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Good thinking, pmh.
I do have a spare transmitter which has hardly been used by us in the last couple of years, so I'll swap them over. The door didn't open today, but when we went out for a while I swithched it off just in case, so I'm still not certain that the problem has been solved.
Many thanks.
Pat
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Hi
If it isn't an electronic/zapper fault, it may be mechanical, I have the same type door. Similar fault in mine, I was advised to adjust the "open" screw at the backn near the light on the left. Try that, a half turn in should do it. Come back if it doesn't. Must rush.
Don drbe
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