Really Wierd Garage Door Problem

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 11:40 am

[quote="db5"]One door has a rotating code opener (installed last year)]

Are you sure about the rotating code? Rotating code came out in the 70's.

Do you need a separate remote for each door? Or just a separate button?

Most rotating code lose sync if the button on the remote is pushed more than 256 times away from the door. In other words a rotating code remote will open the door if it's code is within 256 numbers of the sync code in the receiver.

Illustration a guy had a remote that he gave to his youngster after they got out of range of the door. If the kid pressed the button more than 256 times when they came back the opener would not respond to the remote until it was resync'ed to the opener.

Radio interference will cause the opener to get out of sync with the remote as will electrical spikes. Usually they only move the code up or down a few digits and opener still works but it is possible it could move the code out of the 256 range.

Some openers use a reset button to resync but some openers do it every time the hard wired button is pushed. The thinking is that will keep the receiver and remotes within the 256 range and a failure to open will not ever happen.

Don't mean to be argumentative but a code sync problem is the only thing I can think of that would cause the symptoms you describe. If you are sure it isn't a code sync problem. Please explain the symptoms once again.

Tells us exactly what is happening. How many remotes, how many homelinks and how many receivers are being used and most of all how many hard wire buttons do you have. Does one button open or close both doors?

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 11:42 am

How often does this happen? Could you try this, only use the remotes and not the home links and see if this happens? I realize you might have to do this for a few weeks but I think the results may be telling.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 12:13 pm

All of this talk about sync and homelinks is code to me. I don't have any of that with my garage door opener.

Needless to say, I will be reading each of these posts while waiting to hear that the "beam was out of alignment":rolleyes::)

JPG · Post by **JPG** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 12:49 pm

dusty wrote:All of this talk about sync and homelinks is code to me. I don't have any of that with my garage door opener.

Needless to say, I will be reading each of these posts while waiting to hear that the "beam was out of alignment":rolleyes::)

Save yer breath Dusty. I think this is a too much complexity for reliability issue. As well as too many cooks.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 1:51 pm

&quot wrote:Save yer breath Dusty. I think this is a too much complexity for reliability issue. As well as too many cooks.

When a problem such as this involves multiple items, I consider it wise to drop back and look for either commonalities or the simplest possible cause.

Two cars, two doors, , two motors, one wall control (that works), one safety beam.

Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 2:15 pm

In days of old garage door openers didn't have a code. The manufactures figured a few frequencies would suffice. However as more and more people got garage door openers neighbors started opening and closing other neighbors doors.

So the opener manufactures started installing DIP switch first they were 4 position and then 8 position. You set your opener and remote to the same code by turning the same switches on or off and you were good to go.

But the under belly of society learned they could drive through neighborhoods with a frequency generator and open doors. If they saw a car in the drive or garage they would record the code and come back when no one was home.

So the manufactures started making digital codes using 40 positions.
Each opener was assigned a beginning code and each time the button was pushed on the opener both the transmitter and receiver would increment this code by one.

Problem solved until people started using two cars and two remotes so the manufacture changed the algorithm and each remote would work as long as it was with 256 (HEX 100) of the sync'ed code. Problem solved. Except for business people on extented trips. It was possible that one person would open or close the door 256 on one remote before the other using the other remote did.

To solve this they made a reset that reset everything each time the hardwired button was pressed. It would reset the code to the original sync'ed code thus the various remotes would always be within 256 of the sync'ed code and always work.

However things could still happen to get things out of sync. Such as a something laying atop the button on a remote an triggering the remote on every bump in the road. Or as I told before a child playing with the remote. Also radio interference could mess things up as could power spikes.

I also suspect the home link could easily up the code for various reasons.

My guess if they go back to just using the remotes they will never see this problem again. I suspect there is a hardware or software problem in homelink that is driving the code out of the 256 range where nothing will work until it is all reset.

I hope this all makes sense as this is how it was explained to me and it made sense then.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 3:13 pm

Oh, it makes sense alright. Very well explained. Even I understand.

Now, tell me how you would go about trouble shooting.

I would completely disable one car, one homelink and one remote and go from there.

Are the two garage doors independent systems or when all is well do both doors open/close due to either one of the homelinks or remotes being activated?

lightnin · Post by **lightnin** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 4:11 pm

&quot wrote:Save yer breath Dusty.

AHHH. I wanted to see pix of how Dusty used his dial indicator to align the beam

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 4:29 pm

[quote="db5"]One door has a rotating code opener (installed last year)]

Is this to say that each door has an independent beam?

Are the remotes also for a specific door or does each remote activate both doors?

garys · Post by **garys** » Sat Sep 27, 2014 7:41 pm

I get tired just reading all of this. My garage doors have openers so old they don't have rotating codes, beam sensors, or any of that fancy gagetry. Just set the code and leave it for the rest of your life.
Mine are 1960s vintage and they just work every time. I've never had them fail to open or close unless the battery is dead, and with no sensors to false trigger, they have never opened falsely.