Garage Door Opener - Signal Issues

[Slates]

Has anyone had any experience with bad signals on garage door openers? We have a fairly new home with a rolling code opener (will post model details when I get home if required). I have setup our cars native openers to connect to the opener, and we also have the typical handheld openers that come with the unit. I also installed a wireless pin-driven opener that is attached to the door jamb outside.

We have had very few problems with the opener until recently. For some reason, when my wife gets home (or is attempting to close the door when leaving), her native car opener will not work with repeated attempts. Even the handheld openers won't work. However, if she exits her vehicle and uses the pin driven opener, it works perfectly (like I said, its wireless too).

My car doesn't seem to have as many issues, but I have experienced a few failures here and there. I park on the other side of the garage and have a different make/model car.

It has gotten so bad lately that she can rarely open or close the door at all without using the pin unit on the door.

The way I figure it, there are a few possibilities:

1) The door has developed a dead spot for reception on her side of the driveway (odd, but who knows!)
2) Both the handheld clicker and her native car opener are failing (since they work sometimes, I don't buy this).
3) Can the units themselves "lose" track of the rolling codes of the opener unit?


I am just looking for any ideas on what I could try to do as far as troubleshooting. I am going to try to extend the antenna on the actual opener, but since it has worked fine before, I really don't think that will help much. I am willing to try anything to fix it.. the wife is quite upset that she has to get out to open the door!

Thanks!

Brian

 

[WayneW]

Have you tried replacing the batteries? My GDO issues have usually been due to weak batteries in the transmitters.

 

[Slates]

Sadly, I haven't tried yet. The only reason I haven't is because the car unit runs off the car battery, so I just assumed that couldn't be the issue. It may be worth trying on the handheld clicker though, so if it works, then maybe the car unit is sending a weak signal for some reason.

 

[pete_c]

I've had a similiar problem with my wife and her vehicle. I finally just attributed just to her. We just use a regular garage door opener with her vehicle. Its a rolling code type. We've tried at least 5 different ones with the same results. I am guessing that maybe it could have been attributed to the sun shading on the top of her windshield - maybe some metallic film in the tint?

Its just with her vehicle in that I have taken her opener and tried with the other vehicles and the opener(s) have worked.

 

[judge_l]

The built in opener in our minivan is touchy. You have to push the button just right and hold it for about second. It's one of those things....once your used to it it's not a problem. The range is also less than the handheld opener, but it is convenient being built in.

I also had to reprogram it once after the car battery died.

 

[electron]

I agree with Wayne, definitely sounds like a battery issue.

 

[drozwood90]

I agree with Wayne, definitely sounds like a battery issue.

+1

 

[sic0048]

But Brian (Slates) mentioned that one of the units is wife is using is built into the car and uses the car battery (not an internal battery). So that unit cannot be experiencing a battery issue.

 

[electron]

You're right, somehow I missed that one. Only other thing I can think of is interference, this happens with my remote starter whenever I am parked at work (eventually it works), but it will work perfectly anywhere else.

 

[Slates]

Yeah, I figure it has to be interference as well, but its just weird that it has begun over the past year or so. I can't think of any device I have put in the garage that could cause wireless interference. I did install a second flourescent fixture for overhead lighting, but nothing major.. just a 2 bar set.

It's understandably driving my wife insane, I just don't even know what to try! (I am debating pulling the PIN device off of the door jamb and seeing if that works from her car... but surely asking her to enter a 4 digit pin every time from her car won't last long! :lol:

 

[electron]

I am pretty sure that the source of my interference is coming from the local trooper station a few blocks away, since it's a really big parking lot, and that's the only place I can think of which runs high powered RF equipment. Military bases are known to cause these problems as well.

If you have no means of figuring this out, then maybe you could try one of those universal garage door opener kits?

 

[Steve]

Try one of these?

 

[drozwood90]

But Brian (Slates) mentioned that one of the units is wife is using is built into the car and uses the car battery (not an internal battery). So that unit cannot be experiencing a battery issue.

Could be a loose wire...

 

[Slates]

Could be a loose wire...

I thought the same as well, until the handheld remote experienced the same problems at the same time. The Flash2Pass looks interesting.. maybe it uses a different wireless signal that would be able to get through... of course it wouldn't be ideal since the car already has a built in opener, but its an idea!

 

[rwarshawski]

Your reference to police/military installations tweaked my memory.
I used to find my garage door open some mornings. Changed codes, thinking someone had the same one. Changed to a new controller with rolling codes. Still the occasional problem.
One morning, coming home late from work, I was reaching for the opener on the visor when the garage door opened in front of me, just as a police cruiser went by. They do a circuit through the neighbourhood every night. I flagged then down and asked them to transmit- the door closed! re-transmit- it opened!

Seems that if they were on the radio when they went by, it was enough to trigger the controller. Couldn't figure out why. I eventually bought an entire new system from another manufacturer, with I assume, an RF receiver on a v. different frequency or perhaps better frequency discrimination. No problem now for 5+ years.

Your problem might relate to de-synchronized rolling codes. I had this problem with a weak car battery. Even though the car started (grudgingly, at minus 30), the voltage drop was enough to starve the transmitter and it wouldn't work. Re-synched it and no prob so far.

bob