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Automatic garage door only working intermittently

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red_imps_2003
red_imps_2003 Posts: 160 Forumite
Ninth Anniversary 100 Posts Combo Breaker
I moved home last year and the new place sports a garage with one of those automatic 'rolling' doors that can be raised/dropped by either a remote keyfob, buttons on the controller box, or by winding a manual handle. As the months have gone by it has become increasingly unreliable. It started off where the controller box (which looks like this one) would occasionally shut down completely; for hours, or even a day or two. It's now got to a point where it is mostly 'off' and only comes on occasionally. This is irregardless of whether I intend to use it or not; the little light that indicates when it is switched on is just not on and none of the controls work. When it is this state I've tried gently tugging at cables going in and out of it, pressing the box in various places, tapping it gently etc. Nothing prompts it back into life. To all intents and purposes the box appears completely dead. Yet occasionally when I pop into the garage it's magically back to life again. The little light is on and I can operate the door again. I can go back a few hours later, or the next day, and it's deceased once more.

I can't for the life of me discern any pattern to ascertain what conditions cause it to work again. The box is plugged into a regular socket but I know the socket works (other devices run off it fine). As far as I'm aware I'm not touching anything inbetween it working and not working. It just seems to kind-of come on occasionally (I have no idea how long for) and then switch off again for an extended period. Without checking it every hour on the hour for a week I haven't been able to determine whether it stays on/off for a consistent length of time or if it is entirely random.

To be clear, I'm not talking about the big light that comes on when the door is in operation (presumably so you can see when you enter the garage from the outside at night). There is a little orange light in the middle of the controller that should be on permanently (like the light that shows your TV is plugged in and switched on, for instance). Even this light is not on when the box is playing 'dead'. It is as if no power is going to the controller box at all.

Does anybody have any ideas or suggestions before I pay an expensive person to come and take a look please?
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Comments

  • Le_Kirk
    Le_Kirk Posts: 24,362 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Rather than waiting/hoping/praying, I suggest some serious fault finding would be more appropriate. My first point of attack, having proved that the socket works ALL the time, would be continuity test between plug and control box. Depending upon your level of confidence/competence I would unplug the device, remove the cover and determine where the incoming cable is connected - probably a terminal strip. Using a multi-meter I would determine that there are no breaks between the plug and the terminal strip on the control box. Next (and this is where the confidence/competence levels come in) I would plug it in and check for mains power at the incoming terminal strip. Once that is determined, I would move further into the control box. It could be that the indicator light is faulty/failing. Have you tried to use your remote when the light is out? Could it be batteries in remote? Could there be a faulty pushbutton on the control box. It really is a process of elimination.
  • Thank you. I will see if I can borrow a multimeter but my confidence/competence with electrics is only marginally above rock bottom. I will, though, kill the power to the garage and take the cover off to see if anything looks loose. The fact that it does come back to life occasionally suggests something loose rather than disconnected completely or fried. It's just odd that there seems to be no particular 'conditions' that lead to temporary re-connection. I guess the main possibility is temperature, as I have only been in since October (when it was cold) and the increasing 'out' time does seem to have coincided with the move through Spring into Summer.

    Aye, when the box is out nothing works. No lights come on, none of the buttons for raising/lowering the door work, the keyfob does nothing, there are no humming or mechanical sounds whatsoever. No signs of life at all.
  • cyclonebri1
    cyclonebri1 Posts: 12,827 Forumite
    Thank you. I will see if I can borrow a multimeter but my confidence/competence with electrics is only marginally above rock bottom. I will, though, kill the power to the garage and take the cover off to see if anything looks loose. The fact that it does come back to life occasionally suggests something loose rather than disconnected completely or fried. It's just odd that there seems to be no particular 'conditions' that lead to temporary re-connection. I guess the main possibility is temperature, as I have only been in since October (when it was cold) and the increasing 'out' time does seem to have coincided with the move through Spring into Summer.

    Aye, when the box is out nothing works. No lights come on, none of the buttons for raising/lowering the door work, the keyfob does nothing, there are no humming or mechanical sounds whatsoever. No signs of life at all.

    You have missed the bug one that Le clued you about, have you changed the remote batteries?? Yes or no?

    It seems like a remote or contact issue, resolve those first before spending money.

    Do you have 2 remotes as supplied with all auto openers?, it gives an easy transponder check.
    I like the thanks button, but ,please, an I agree button.

    Will the grammar and spelling police respect I do make grammatical errors, and have carp spelling, no need to remind me.;)

    Always expect the unexpected:eek:and then you won't be dissapointed
  • shaun_from_Africa
    shaun_from_Africa Posts: 12,858 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    You have missed the bug one that Le clued you about, have you changed the remote batteries?? Yes or no?

    It seems like a remote or contact issue, resolve those first before spending money.
    It's very unlikely to be a remote control problem as the OP stated that "No lights come on, none of the buttons for raising/lowering the door work, the keyfob does nothing" which sounds like they have also been pressing the buttons on the control panel with no effect.
    Even if the remote is totally dead, the up and down buttons on the main unit should still work and the orange light on there should be illuminated.
  • cyclonebri1
    cyclonebri1 Posts: 12,827 Forumite
    It's very unlikely to be a remote control problem as the OP stated that "No lights come on, none of the buttons for raising/lowering the door work, the keyfob does nothing" which sounds like they have also been pressing the buttons on the control panel with no effect.
    Even if the remote is totally dead, the up and down buttons on the main unit should still work and the orange light on there should be illuminated.

    Hadn't picked up on the picture, mine has only remote operation, no manual switching.
    I like the thanks button, but ,please, an I agree button.

    Will the grammar and spelling police respect I do make grammatical errors, and have carp spelling, no need to remind me.;)

    Always expect the unexpected:eek:and then you won't be dissapointed
  • phil24_7
    phil24_7 Posts: 1,535 Forumite
    Eighth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Do you have a multi plug in the socket with the door plugged into this? If so, remove it.
  • Thank you for he suggestion. No multi-plug involved though, sadly. To confirm, I know the socket works because other devices run off it fine and I have tried plugging the controller into other working sockets using an extension cable (the same one I use for the lawnmower, so I know that's not at fault either).

    I took the cover off earlier this week but couldn't see anything obviously loose. There were two banks of four dip switches (one near the top of the PCB, the other to the left). Only one of them was set to a different position to the others. I presume it's to do with the channel the remote broadcasts on or something. I tried knocking it down but nothing happened so I restored it to the original position. I must say, I've not seen the unit operating again since then.

    The last time the unit was showing signs of life when I entered the garage, I tried to raise the door with the button on the panel to see if it would power it and the door started to lift for a second before everything shut down again. I don't know if this is connected.

    The first time I ever noticed a problem was the week I moved in. the door had worked the first few times I used it but one time it did stop raising about halfway up (with the control box then showing no signs of life, as previously described). It was working again an hour or so later, though. Since then the instances of failure have become increasingly frequent, with no attempt to raise the door needed to provoke a shut down of the control box (and no intervention taking place to restore it again).

    Yet throughout late March and early April our landscaper used the same door daily for three weeks (using the remote fob) apparently opening the door each morning and closing it late each afternoon with no issues (at least, he never mentioned any to me).

    It's very peculiar that the issue is intermittent but comes and goes with no intervention from myself. If something were knackered I would expect it never to work at all.
  • Le_Kirk
    Le_Kirk Posts: 24,362 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I wonder if the mechanism is jamming as soon as you try to lift it. Have you tried to lift it manually?
  • EssexExile
    EssexExile Posts: 6,440 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    To be honest everyone would just be guessing, it could be anything. Unless an experienced repair man comes on & recognises the symptoms I think you're out of luck.

    Intermittent faults are the worst, after two hours of fiddling you eventually get it going - have you cured it or is it just having one of its good spells?
    Tall, dark & handsome. Well two out of three ain't bad.
  • Le_Kirk
    Le_Kirk Posts: 24,362 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    ^^^ Agree re intermittent faults, I used to hate them when I was a service engineer (I'm cured now) because you don't know you've fixed the fault until it never happens again!
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