Mysterious Garage Door

I have a question regarding Garage Door Openers. I have a standard Black & Decker garage door opener. It has 2 remote controls, and an electronic eye which stops the door if there is something which breaks the beam. It's been up for about 2 years now, and never had a problem with it. Recently, the garage door has been opened on 3 separate occasions. Twice it was all the way open, and once about 1/4 of the way open. I haven't heard it going up, and don't know what causes it.
Any clues?

Well, some of the possibilities which come to my mind are somewhat unlikely, but I'm not an electrician.

The best possibility is that a neighbor has a remote on the same frequency. The varied position of the garage door (1/4 open) could be explained in this way- if they saw it moving and clicked again to stop it. You can check by taking your remote and walking around a short distance outside, pointing it in various directions and clicking it. If a neighbor's door opens, look into the possibility of adjusting the frequency. If that's not possible perhaps some kind weak insulation of the sensor could be used to reduce its reception range, but I'm completely guessing.


It's remotely possible that the door is loose, and is therefore shaking slightly, causing the sensors to lose contact with one another and open again just as you are leaving the garage after closing it- you wouldn't necessarily hear anything because it would sound like the door is still closing.

I suppose an electrical short could be triggering the door, but it seems to me that it would trigger constantly, going up and down until it burned itself up. It's possible that some kind of physical movement or other condition is causing the short only at certain times though I suppose.

Least of the possibilities in my mind- pests, cats, aliens, chupacabras, or some other entity may be in your garage triggering the safety mechanism.

If all else fails, write to Tim Allen.

Least of the possibilities in my mind- pests, cats, aliens, chupacabras, or some other entity may be in your garage triggering the safety mechanism.

If all else fails, write to Tim Allen.

I hardly think any entities are in my house - just an annoying garage door opener.
I will try the remote suggestion - good idea Vagabond!
Wow, Tim Allen, you know it does need "more power"!

I do a lot of electrical work, including garage doors

Vagabond most likely is right on the money about someone in your neighborhood having the same frequency.

Do you still have the papers that came with it? It's normally very easy to change the frequency.

CB radios, police communications, a nearby radio station or can also make The garage door open and close on its own.

If you suspect your next-door-neighbor has a same garage door opener frequency, try changing the frequency of your garage door opener Remote.


If the problem stops, Great.

And if Not, you may want to call a Grarage Door Repair expert to help you troubleshoot the issue and fix the frequency problem. They tell you if you need to install a brand-new garage door.

If you or your neighbors have lighting that operates remotely many LED companies frequencies can overlap garage door opener frequencies. Just some industry inside info that may help.

originally posted by: AugustusMasonicus

If you or your neighbors have lighting that operates remotely many LED companies frequencies can overlap garage door opener frequencies. Just some industry inside info that may help.

I would like to think that he resolved the issue sometime in the past 11 years.

a reply to: nonspecific

Just in case he didn't. You know how guys can procrastinate.