Did Your Home’s Garage Door Accidentally Open? Know Why It Can Happen

You may have come home to discover that your garage door was open all day long while you were away. The cause for this problem may not be forgetfulness, but a problem with your home's garage door. Here are 3 reasons why it could have happened.

Signal Interference

It's possible that other electronic equipment in the area uses a similar signal frequency, and may cause confusion with a garage door's electric opener. This could be from a variety of reasons that are out of your control. CB radios from truck drivers near your home, a police radio, nearby radio towers, or even one of your neighbor's garage door openers that use a similar frequency can cause the door to open.

Electrical Short Circuit

Another problem is if the electrical wires going to the garage door's opener short out. Start troubleshooting the problem by taking all the batteries out of your remote openers and using your garage door without remotes for a couple days. If the random garage door opening still is occurring, you know there is a problem with the wiring and not your remote triggering it.

Shorts can happen because of power surges, especially if you recently had a storm that caused your home's electricity to flicker. This type of problem may require completely replacing a garage door opener that is now faulty. In addition to replacing the unit, a surge protector will be necessary to prevent the problem from happening again in the future.

Accidental Opening

Do you have an extra remote for your garage door somewhere around the house? Make sure that it is accounted for and put away in a safe place where it will not get accidentally pushed. Never underestimate the trouble that a small child can get into, especially when it comes to devices that have buttons, since they may have opened the door by accident. Is the opener in a junk drawer? Maybe somebody accidentally hit the button while rummaging inside the drawer for something.

Safety Mechanism Issues

Don't mistake a garage door that opens for one that is doing its job. There are two safety mechanisms that will stop the garage door from accidentally closing on something in its path. There is an electric eye near the bottom of the door, as well as a sensor that will cause the door to reverse if it senses pressure on the door when closing. If something is in the path of the door when you go to close it, the door will automatically open once it makes contact with that item.

If you have determined that the problem is due to a faulty opener, contact a professional, like those at Kaufman Overhead Door, to help repair or replace it for you.


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