Why Is My Garage Door Opening on Its Own?

Have you noticed your garage door opening and closing by itself? While this can be an annoying issue, it also poses security concerns. When your garage door continually opens and closes on its own, it can leave your property vulnerable to intruders and make it difficult for you to control your energy costs. You might also deal with pests or animals freely roaming your garage.

Luckily, this is a common issue that professionals can fix. Learn how to find the source of the problem, discover troubleshooting tips and see how experts can quickly get your garage door back in working condition.

Why Does My Garage Door Keep Opening By Itself?

While some garage door problems require a quick fix, others need to be addressed by professionals. Without further ado, let’s get into eight possible reasons your garage door keeps opening on its own: 

1. Old Transmitter Buttons or Remote

If you’ve gotten home and discovered your garage door has opened itself, one of the first things you can do is check your remote buttons. You’ll find that debris can get caught between the buttons on your keypad, wall control or remote control operator and cause the door to open randomly. If your transmitters are old, they might fail to work correctly and cause a malfunctioning garage door.

To fix the issue, remove any debris between the buttons, replace old batteries and use compressed air to remove dirt or dust from the circuit board. If none of these methods work, you’ll need to call a professional to replace the remote and get your garage door back in working condition.

2. Your Opener Limit Settings Needs Adjusting

Does your garage door only reach halfway when you attempt to open or close it? Does your door go in the opposite direction after making contact with the top or bottom? If so, you may need to adjust your limit settings.

Your limit settings tell the garage door how far it needs to go up to completely open and how far down it’ll need to go to close. If you suspect your limit settings are incorrect, a professional can reset them so your garage door opens and closes properly again.

3. Damaged Electrical Circuits 

As a result of a power surge or outage, the electric circuits that control your opener system might be damaged and cause your garage door to open and close erratically. It’s essential to call a garage door technician to inspect the circuits if you suspect weather events or electricity issues are to blame for the problem.

4. An Unsuspecting Neighbor 

If your garage door remote was made before 1993, you’ll be surprised to know your neighbor could be opening your garage door unknowingly. Older remotes are programmed to respond to a signal on a specific frequency — between 300 and 390 megahertz — which means there’s a chance someone on your street has a garage door remote set at the same frequency as yours.

There’s also a rare chance you have a newer model programmed to your neighbor’s garage door.  If you have an LCD panel, you’ll be able to see if anyone in your surrounding area has the same frequency remote as yours so you can erase your remote’s history and reprogram the transmitter. You can do this by reading the instructions on your owner’s manual or calling a professional.

5. Debris or Obstructions 

Your garage door has a feature known as a reversing mechanism, a sensor located near the floor of your garage next to where the door closes. The sensor is designed to keep people safe by reversing the garage door’s motion if it senses something is in the way. While an excellent feature, the garage door may open and close on its own if the sensor identifies any obstruction, no matter how small.

Search for any sticks or rocks that might be close to your sensor that could be preventing it from closing. Also, ensure weather buildup and debris haven’t caused interference in your door’s operation. A professional can inspect and fix anything that might be triggering your reversing mechanism and ensure your garage door properly opens and closes.

6. Misaligned Safety Sensors

If you find that clearing debris from your sensors doesn’t solve the problem, you may have a misaligned sensor. Typically, you’ll have two sensors close to the bottom of your garage door connecting across a beam of light. If they become misaligned, the light can get interrupted and trigger the reverse mechanism to open the door, even when there are no obstacles in its path.

If you notice the green LED on your sensor is off, dim or flicking, you’ll need to have your sensors realigned by a technician.

7. Damaged Control Wiring

A garage door that randomly opens and closes could indicate a problem with the electrical wiring. If you look around your garage, you might notice a wire running from the motor unit of your opener to the mounted wall control. Other wires travel from the motor unit to both door photosensors. When the circuit shorts or has bare spots, the garage door can open and close on its own.

Staples, nails and even mice can pierce the wires and cause bare spots. In the event of control wiring damage, you’ll need to have a technician fix the problem since working with electric wires can be extremely dangerous.

8. Circuit Board Malfunction 

Your garage door circuit board ensures all signals from your remote or wall panel reach the door to open and close it properly. When damaged, the door might open and close on its own. You’ll want to enlist professionals to inspect the circuit board to repair or replace it.

To diagnose the problem, professionals will first test the wiring on your receiver board and disconnect the wires on your motor and control panel. Then, they’ll attempt to reconnect or replace the cables. Since this might not restore your door’s functionality, it can be more cost-effective to replace the opener altogether rather than attempting to replace an outdated model.

Call Whitby Garage Doors If Your Garage Door Opens on Its Own

The last thing you want is a malfunctioning garage door that could invite pests or intruders into your home. When you’re unsure what’s causing your garage door to open and close on its own, enlist the help of your local garage door technicians to diagnose and fix the issue.

Whitby Garage Doors offers same-day service, honest repairs and competitive prices to fix or replace your garage door opener. Our highly skilled technicians are excited to work with you to get your garage door back in working condition.

To schedule garage door maintenance, contact us today.