3 pros!
Don’t worry—it’s probably not a ghost
Automatic garage doors can save homeowners a lot of hassle, but nothing’s without its quirks. They can fall victim to a few problems or glitches, most of which are relatively simple to fix with routine maintenance and troubleshooting. But one of the more confusing (and somewhat spooky) issues is a garage door that opens and closes all by itself.
So what causes garage doors to become possessed, and what can you do about it? There are five main reasons (and none of them are ghosts) why automated garage doors open and close of their own accord.
1. Overlapping Signals
The issues plaguing your garage door could be due to overlapping or conflicting wireless signals. Your neighbor could have a garage door opener set to the same wireless code as yours, or your opener could be reacting to a wireless radio signal. Talk to your neighbors and ask them to open and close their garage door, keeping an eye on yours as they do so.
How to Fix It
If you suspect your neighbor has an identical garage door opener frequency, try changing your opener’s code or frequency. Changing these can also stop interference from CB radios, police radios, radio stations, and radio towers.
The process will vary depending on your garage door opener’s make and model, so read the instructions or contact the manufacturer directly if you have questions.
2. Blocked Safety Sensors
Modern garage door openers usually feature integrated safety sensors in the motor, on each side of the garage door, and mounted on the tracks. These sensors tell the garage door to open when they detect an obstacle in its path.
They typically operate by shooting a light beam across the door. If the beam of light becomes interrupted, the door will not shut. It’s a great feature to have for protecting darting pets or wandering children, but there are a lot of innocuous ways to interrupt these beams of light, too, causing the garage door’s auto-reverse mechanism to kick in.
How to Fix It
Clean your garage thoroughly, removing any items that could get in the way of the safety sensors. Move any boxes that may be in the sensors’ line of sight and dispose of accumulated leaves, snow, or ice around the door. These safety sensors are extremely sensitive and can become activated by the slightest detection.
If you suspect that the sensor or affiliated wires have become bent, misaligned, or otherwise damaged, you may need to pony up for a replacement.
3. Stuck Control Buttons
Most modern garage doors feature a control button mounted near somewhere inside. This button could be the cause of your ghostly garage issue, especially if it’s old, dirty, or just plain stuck.
It’s all too common for a garage door button to become stuck in the “pushed” position, causing the door to open and shut continuously. If your door seems to be in constant motion, it is likely being caused by a stuck control button or loose wire connections inside the button housing.
How to Fix It
Clean the button of any debris and dust, and check on its overall responsiveness. If that doesn’t fix the problem, grab a screwdriver and open it up.
Make sure there are no issues with the wiring immediately surrounding the button. Look for bare spots in the insulation and anywhere along the run of the wire. If the wire looks iffy, you will likely need to replace the control button or contact a professional electrician near you.
(Photo By Tarasenko Andrey/ Shutterstock.com)
4. Incorrect Limit Settings
Garage door openers often include many tweakable options that can be adjusted. Two settings that could stop your garage door from properly functioning are the open limit setting and the closed limit setting.
These settings tell your garage door how far up the track it needs to go before it’s fully open and how far down it needs to go before it’s closed. When the door reaches one of these limit settings, it stops. Incorrect limits can be the culprit behind any mysterious garage door issues you’re experiencing, especially if you’ve noticed the door stopping before it reaches the floor or ceiling.
How to Fix It
Adjust your limit settings. The process will vary depending on your garage door opener’s make and model, but you will typically encounter a pair of limit switch adjustment screws next to the garage door opener’s motor mechanism. Grab a flathead screwdriver and turn the up limit screw clockwise to raise it at a rate of three inches per turn. Perform the same action to the down limit screw. Keep adjusting these limit screws until the garage door operates normally.
5. Malfunctioning Circuit Board
Garage openers and remotes are fantastic pieces of technology with expertly designed circuit boards and logic boards. But these circuit boards can malfunction over time, resulting in a garage door that closes all on its own.
If your garage door is descending on its own but doesn’t seem to be rising on its own, that could indicate a problem with the opener’s logic board or the circuitry inside of the motor. Another clue the circuitry is to blame is when the door’s lights begin flashing for no reason.
How to Fix It
In theory, you could repair minor circuit board problems without the aid of a professional. Resoldering a loose connection, as an example, would not be too difficult. However, it may prove frustrating for a casual DIYer to diagnose the issue within the circuitry.
If you are not well-versed in the inner workings of logic boards, your best bet will be to simply replace the garage door opener itself. The cost of replacing a garage door opener is in line with hiring a local garage professional to troubleshoot and fix the board, at around $150 to $500. Installing a new garage door opener will be a snap for any moderately handy person.