The first is photoelectric and the second is mechanical.
Garage door goes up and down by itself.
This can get misaligned though the two sensors can get out of align the beam cut off and the system interprets this as an object in the way of the door closing.
There are a few unusual factors that can cause your door open by itself.
This is actually a very rare problem of all the garage door installation problems you can have but when it happens it s usually a short in the circuit board says andrew richards owner of legacy garage doors an atlanta area garage door repair company.
Here are a few scenarios we ve come across.
The garage door goes down then back up.
Garage door opener keeps going back up.
If these limits are set too high the door will hit the ground before reaching the closed limit.
If the remote opener is dirty or the batteries are failing it may cause the door to open on its own.
This can cause it to reopen.
These doors have aphotoelectric systemthat act as a safety mechanism.
However if your garage door opens by itself we may be able to explain that one and give you some tips to troubleshoot your garage door operator to prevent it from happening again.
Your garage door opens when it hits the ground.
There are four common problems with garage door sensors three of these homeowners can fix themselves.
It goes partway down reverses direction and goes back up again.
Before calling on a professional follow these steps.
In some rare cases a garage door will open or close by itself even if the homeowner hasn t instructed the automatic garage door opener to do so.
When the garage door reaches the open or closed limit it stops.
Your garage door opens immediately after closing.
The remote s batteries may be breaking down or may just not be positioned properly.
The garage door keeps going up and down.
But one of the more perplexing issues is when the door goes up and down by itself with no help from you.
This can be fixed by realigning the beams.
It may be your garage door sensor.
By wade shaddy updated december 19 2018 you push the button to close the garage door.
If your garage door keeps opening by itself after you closed it you may have to adjust your closed limit settings.
Scan the safety sensors.
Residential electric garage door openers manufactured after 1993 are equipped with two safety mechanisms that operate while the door is closing.
It can seem quite ghostly having your garage door operate with a mind of its own.
Another easy way to fix a garage door that opens by itself is by checking the remote opener.