Why garage door keeps opening

Learn how home warranty coverage can help you save if your ceiling fans break down. Search the blog. Shop Plans. Real Estate Tips. Lifestyle Ideas and Tips. Quick Tips for the Home. Helpful tips? Sign up for our newletter. Sign up for updates from the blog. Thank you for subscribing.

Need help? When that happens, instead of the sensors producing one solid ray of light pointing at one another, the rays tend to point at different spots, and this is often interpreted as something being in the way. As a result, the reverse mechanism is triggered in spite of the garage door not having any obstacles in its path. Issues with garage door safety sensors will typically occur because of wrongly connected wires, shorts in wires, or a poor connection.

If you suspect a misaligned sensor could be the reason why your garage door is opening on its own, have a garage door technician examine it. Not only will they fix the problem but they will also offer tips for preventing future sensor misalignments.

A garage door that keeps opening by itself can be a cause for concern. Luckily, most of the problems that cause this can easily be fixed. But if you suspect that the sensors are misaligned or electrical circuits are damaged, it would be best to call a professional. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Conflicting Wireless Signals One of the reasons a garage door would open by itself is overlapping signals. How to Fix Ask your neighbor to open and close the door of their garage while looking at yours to see if it reacts to their signal. Faulty Remote Control A faulty remote control may send wrong signals to the garage door, causing the door to open by itself.

How to Fix If you suspect a faulty remote control could be the reason for your garage door having a mind of its own, start by checking the buttons to make sure none is pushed down.

Dirt Buildup If you engage your garage door operator to close, then wave an object under the door as it closes, the door will stop, then open back up. How to Fix Check to see none of the items you store in the garage are too close to the sensor and causing the door to open back up.

How to Fix The only way to solve this problem is to adjust your limit settings. They can help you get everything back in place and ensure your garage door is working smoothly again. Weather can also have a negative impact on your garage door in another way. Thunderstorms, windstorms and other conditions can cause power outages and electrical surges. This type of damage can lead to the garage door opening on its own — usually in a completely erratic manner.

If you suspect recent weather conditions or other power inconsistencies may be at the root of your garage door opening on its own, you should call a professional to come in to diagnose and resolve the problem.

There are also wires that run between the motor unit and each of the sensors on either side of the garage door tracks, near the floor. If any of these small-gauge wires have a bare spot or a short circuit, it could be the reason your garage door keeps opening on its own. A bare spot in your wire could be from several things. Some of the most frequent causes are a nail or staple piercing the wire, a hungry mouse who chewed part of the wire, damage from a shovel or other piece of garage equipment or friction that has worn the wire over time.

Most garage doors have what are called open and closed limit settings. When the garage door reaches the open or closed limit, it stops. If your garage door keeps opening by itself after you closed it, you may have to adjust your closed limit settings. If these limits are set too high, the door will hit the ground before reaching the closed limit. The garage door will close completely and then continue moving in the reverse direction, leaving you with a partially open garage door.

The most common reason garage doors open on their own is an electrical short somewhere in the system. It could be in the circuit board, a remote, the wall button or its wiring, or even the wired keypad.

Older Stanley garage door openers are known for opening and closing by themselves because of a malfunctioning circuit board.

Interference from police radios, CB radios, or a radio station or tower near your house can disrupt the signal. If you store your spare remote in a drawer, the button could accidentally be pressed by other items inside the drawer.