If working properly, garage doors open and close only with a push of a button from the electronic opener.
Or, if during power outages, we can manually open or close them.
But what if one morning we wake up and find our garage door open?
And we ask ourselves: “Why does my garage door open by itself?” Indeed, it is scary when that happens.
What if unwanted animals or bad guys will enter our house through our open garage door?
This is the kind of problem that needs to be fixed as soon as possible.
But before we call the help of a professional, let us first check the possible reasons why the garage door opens by itself.
The following checks are easy and we can do it by ourselves.
Safety Sensors Blockage Detection
There is this safety feature required for 1994 and beyond garage door operators.
Sensors are placed in the following areas: in the motor, on each opening’s side, mounted on the tracks and near the floor.
When the sensors detect that something is blocking the door during the close cycle, the door will open.
So, when the door this an object while going down, the resistance will be detected by the sensor that is on the motor.
This will cause the door to open.
Possible blockages that will cause the garage door to open are accumulated snow, ice or leaves around the door of the garage.
The floor sensors have a beam of light between them.
The door will not close if the light is broken.
Also, if the floor sensors are not completely broken but misaligned, it can still cause the sensors to not work properly.
What to do
- Check for blockages or clean the area around the garage door.
- Check the door tracks for bumps and bends causing misalignment of the sensors.
- If a and b are already done and still the garage door will not completely close, maybe the a sensor is broken and needs to be replaced.
Problem with the Garage Door Opener Button
Sometimes the problem lies in the “opener” button being stuck in the pushed position.
Obviously, the door will stay open as long as the “opener” button stay pushed.
What to do
Simply clean the button including the connections.
We need to make sure that the button is clean and free of debris.
Just be careful not to compromise the opener button wirings.
Also check for exposed wires that are prone to short circuits.
It can also be a cause for door to open on its own.
Transformer and Control Board Problem
If there are no problems with the connections or wirings and the operator button as well as the safety sensors are functioning well, then maybe the problem is with the garage door opener’s control board.
The board may be broken due to electrical problems.
Lightning strikes causing power surge may also make the board defective.
This I also true with the transformer.
We can check if either one of the board or the transformer is damaged by checking the voltage in and out using a multimeter.
If any of the two or both are defective, replacing them will, of course, cost us an unexpected expense.
Problems with the two mentioned electrical devices may be lessen by a surge protector.
We may install it to prevent power surge problems.
Same Remote Code with the Neighbor
Although this is a rare scenario, still it is possible to have the same code programmed with your remote and any one of your neighbors.
We can either reprogram our garage door operator or we may ask our friend neighbors who are close to our houses to try opening their garage doors and see if your garage door also opens.
It is better to do the latter first before considering reprogramming the garage door opener because we are still not sure if it is indeed the cause of the problem.
If after checking the with possible problems mentioned above, still the question “Why does my garage door open by itself?”
is not yet answered, then it is time to seek the help of garage doors professionals and experts.
