Garage door opening by itself

Trying to keep this short to appease the loungers.

My garage door opens randomly by itself. I live in a townhouse subdivision so there are lots of garages close by. I checked and the opener has no dip switches and uses rolling code technology...so odds are its not someone elses remote opening mine.

I added a wifi video camera to verify when its opening and email me the results. No one is around when it opens. Yesterday it was at 7:50 am and this morning was 3:17 am. Its been happening more and more frequently so ive been killing the power to it when im not home.

Things I will try tonight, remove all the batteries from all my remotes including my wireless keypad opener.

Additional thing to consider, I have a motion sensor light socket so the light comes on when entering the garage without having to use the switch. Have had this installed for about a year. Problem first started a few months back but is very frequent now.

If the door still opens with batteries out of all remotes, does any one have suggestions where to look next?

I'm not apposed to replacing the garage opener itself if it will fix the issue, but i'm not convinced it is faulty yet.

Clear all the codes and reprogram them all (all the transmitters). Usually you hold the red button in for like 30 seconds and it clears them all out.

sounds like its either a battery in a remote or the receiver on the unit itself is going boinkers.

i remember reading a while (couple of years back) back that certain military radio frequencies were causing havoc on garage door openers [google.com].

do you have any cell phone towers fairly close by?

if none of the batteries in any of the remotes resolve the problem, see if you can disconnect the remote receiver on the unit itself and if that resolves things.

If it only happens when there is battery inside any of the remote controls nearby while the temperature is low and high humidity, it's probably the old switches underneath the remote control buttons.

It could also be the control box next to the garage door. They are usually low voltaged so instead of tripping the breaker when there is faulty wiring (ex. short somewhere) it may just produce enough pulse to trigger the receiver to open the door.

they should have a checks and balance system on both the remotes and local switch panel where you have to press 2 buttons to open the door. that way there wouldnt be any false triggers with just one button.

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/a...75,00.html

You remember that commercial on TV, where the guy keeps flicking (what appears to be light switche switches on the wall in his house, while the neighbour's garage door keeps on opening and closing.
Is there any possibility that one of your neighbours has a similar door opener, and he opens and closes yours at the same time as his/hers?

Quote from AngryPirate : http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/a...75,00.html

i like the temporary solution of plugging the garage door opener into a remote controlled unit, like a xmas light remote. thats a good second layer of protection!

lamp remote controlls [amazon.com]

note that you want one that can handle the max wattage of your garage door opener.

Quote from RockySosua : You remember that commercial on TV, where the guy keeps flicking (what appears to be light switche switches on the wall in his house, while the neighbour's garage door keeps on opening and closing. Is there any possibility that one of your neighbours has a similar door opener, and he opens and closes yours at the same time as his/hers?

our remote works from the next street over! could shorten or remote the antenna on the opener.

When I was in the army, we had so many avionics on board our helicopter it seemed to trigger some openers as we'd fly overhead :0)

change the code at the unt some you unplug some use dp swtches

Quote from nizzy1115 : Additional thing to consider, I have a motion sensor light socket so the light comes on when entering the garage without having to use the switch. Have had this installed for about a year. Problem first started a few months back but is very frequent now. .

Trouble understanding this...
Do you mean you have a motion sensor light socket in the opener itself, where a normal bulb would go or a separate light apart from the opener. This could be your problem. Something tripping the sensor could cause the opener to activate. Even if its a separate light socket on the same circuit, the initial power spike could trip the opener.
I would disconnect this sensor and see what happens.

As a side note...I have an outside sensor light on the same circuit as a double flourescent fixture. If I turn on the fixture the outside light will come on and has to be reset.

Try disconnecting the wired button inside the garage, it's possible there's a short.

Try deprogramming the opener (erase all transmitters) and don't reprogram for a few days.

Quote from jkee : Try disconnecting the wired button inside the garage, it's possible there's a short. .

Good Idea.
Now that you mention it, I remember having a wired button that didn't disengage completely after the button was pressed. I had some random openings because of it. I took it apart and cleaned it, especially around the edges of the button. There was dirt / gunk that kept the button from fully releasing.

Quote from nrgy : When I was in the army, we had so many avionics on board our helicopter it seemed to trigger some openers as we'd fly overhead :0)

Openers? Like beer bottle or wine bottle openers?