How Do We Know the Garage Door Isn't Opening?

September 5, 2007 11:32 AM

So our garage door opener was randomly opening and I think I've solved it, but the real question is, how do I test it without leaving ourselves open to the world?

We have an older garage door opener that came with our house. While we were away for the long weekend, our neighbors noticed it went up by itself a few times. They helpfully closed it and shut off the power to the opener.

Now that I think I've fixed the short that made it open, how can we know that the door isn't randomly opening while we're away? Rube Goldberg and MacGyver answers are encouraged.

posted by advicepig to home & garden (13 comments total)

Don't park in the garage and leave the door closed for a few weeks while you are home
posted by edgeways at 11:34 AM on September 5, 2007

Tie some longish string to the inside. At the end of the string, on the floor of the garage, place something small and soft - maybe just a dish towel. The string should be stretched tight.

If the door opens and closes, that towel will be nowhere near where you left it.
posted by vacapinta at 11:35 AM on September 5, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

close the garage door and lean something against it on the inside. it doesn't have to be big--a ruler would work. if the door goes up, it'll fall.

obviously, this will entail closing the garage door, then going back into the house via another door to get into the garage and lean said item against the door. :)
posted by thinkingwoman at 11:37 AM on September 5, 2007

Or just leave something leaning up against it...

Also, a short caused this? Why would a short be random, unless atmospheric changes encouraged it?

The question is, do you want to be sure you have fixed it, or be sure you have found the fault?
posted by Brockles at 11:40 AM on September 5, 2007

a length of wood (say two feet or so)
something to use as a fulcrum
a button which, when pressed, calls you(!)

Set up a see-saw with your wood and fulcrum, so that the wood is perpendicular to the garage door with a lighter (shorter) length of wood on the side of the fulcrum closest to the door. This should be exactly close enough so that when the garage door is down the light/short side of the see-saw can be held down with friction from the garage door (alternatively, if the handle on the door is at the correct spot you could tuck the end of the see-saw under it). The button that calls you is placed underneath the other (long/heavy) end of the see-saw. When your garage door opens, the see-saw will obey gravity and fall on the button, calling you.
posted by anaelith at 11:46 AM on September 5, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

You could also switch the code on the remote if possible, or get a newer one, because it's possible that either a neighbor has a similar one or someone's driving by with some sort of scanner that's opening older garage doors.
posted by mikeh at 11:47 AM on September 5, 2007

It's your chance to be a spy! Rest a single hair on one of the wheels in the track or somewhere else that it would be easily moved. If the hair is gone upon your return, the CIA is on to you.
posted by solotoro at 11:56 AM on September 5, 2007 [1 favorite has favorites]

(Poster answering questions)

We actually changed the remote to a fancy rolling code type when we first hooked it up. So it's pretty unlikely that a scanner opened it.

I discovered that the terminals that the remote receiver and the button attach to were loose and jiggling them could make the circuit close and the door open or close. I think this should have fixed it.

I'll probably disconnect the opener from the door and try to use a technique to discover if the chain moves at all. This would allow for testing without the door opening.
posted by advicepig at 12:11 PM on September 5, 2007

I'll probably disconnect the opener from the door and try to use a technique to discover if the chain moves at all. This would allow for testing without the door opening.

Aw. Don't you just hate it when the OP has a better idea than ours? That way it is safe and the consequences of it not being fixed are minimal...

Arses for your sense and foresight! That's not crazy enough for me! I say fill your garage with 50 chickens, and count them all when you get back. Any number less than 50 suggests the door opened. If you can smell a garage full of 50 chicken's worth of shit from the minute you drive up your street on your return, the mystery is solved!
posted by Brockles at 1:31 PM on September 5, 2007 [4 favorites has favorites]

(Oh, and sticking a piece of paper or a match or something in the chain would do it, as it would crumple or snap when it goes over the pulley)

Boring, boring boring.





(Cluck cluck)

"One."...
posted by Brockles at 1:33 PM on September 5, 2007

The cheapest and simplest solution I can think of it leaning something like a wooden ruler or a paint-stirrer against the door. If the opener cycles, the ruler will be flat on the ground when you return.

Similarly, if there are any places on the inside of your door that can be used as "shelves", you can put light, non-rolling items on the door. These items will be on the ground if the door has cycled while you were out.

If you want to go the expensive/geek way, you could set up a web-cam with motion detection to take a time-stamped photo of your door every time it opens/closes.
posted by Crosius at 3:47 PM on September 5, 2007

We had a problem several years back with someone in the neighborhood sharing our frequency as our remote. We finallly figured it out by walking around clicking our remote until someone else's garage door opened. We fixed the problem by popping open the remote (and the corresponding receiver on the motor unit) and changing the frequency via dip switches.
posted by dws at 6:05 PM on September 5, 2007

OK, so now I have 53 chickens...

Thanks hive mind. I'll be doing the dishrag trick without having the chain connected to the door. As a bonus, I may sprinkle saw dust or something on the floor to see if it goes up and down more than once, if the trails are conclusive, I might learn something.
posted by advicepig at 8:04 PM on September 5, 2007