Tackling the Problem of Phantom Garage Door Operation
Getting up in the morning to find that your garage door has mysteriously opened on its own is a disconcerting experience. Known as “phantom operation,” this rare occurrence poses a potential security hazard for your home and should be dealt with immediately.
Potential Causes of Garage Door Problems
Since garage doors operate on electric circuits, the most common cause of phantom operation is an electrical malfunction. Electrical surges during storms may damage the transmitter, or there could be a short in the circuit board. Wall buttons, wiring, and remote openers can also develop a short.
Defective garage opener remotes or those with dying batteries may send out random signals, causing the door to open when it shouldn’t. Leaving your remote in a drawer stuffed with junk can also be a problem because it may get activated by accident. Rarely is phantom operation the cause of someone else’s remote opening your door. There are millions of code combinations, so the chances of unintentionally activating another door are slim.
Another rare but possible cause is equipment in the house or at a nearby site operating on the same frequency as your garage door. Since determining whether this is happening can be difficult, it’s a good idea to eliminate other possibilities before trying to find the offending equipment.
Troubleshooting Phantom Operation
If a power surge is the cause of your garage door’s mysterious behavior, you’ll need to call in the pros. However, if you suspect something else, you can try addressing the problem yourself first. The easiest thing to do is change the batteries in the opener. Test the remote to ensure it’s working properly and wait to see if your garage door stays closed when it should. If not, select a new opener code and test everything again. Store the opener in a place where the buttons can’t accidentally be pressed to avoid random activation of the garage door.
In a situation where you can’t pinpoint the cause of the phantom operation, be sure to disconnect the circuits that operate your garage door whenever you’re out of the house. This will prevent the door from opening until you get home, minimizing the security risk of this troubling situation.
At the Overhead Door Company of Portland, we know how annoying garage door problems can be. If you’ve done everything you know how to do and your garage is still opening up by itself, give us a call. Our specialists will assess the problem and get it fixed quickly to prevent further annoyance. Request a quote or schedule repairs today and let us restore sanity to your Portland, OR, home.
