Running engine's effect on garage opener

I noticed lately that the effective range of my garage door opener
is greatly reduced when the engine is running vis-a-vis when it is not.
This was not always the case and wonder if it may have something to do
with some kind of electrical shielding removed or disconnected during
one of the regular maintenace visits at my Honda dealer. The car is a
'94 Accord LX model that otherwise runs just fine.
The only reason I can imagine for this behavior is that somehow the
electro-magnetic field around the running engine is interfering with the
garage door opener's RF signal but I'd like to hear from anybody
knowledgeable on this subject. I have no idea what exactly a service
technician could have done to cause this effect.

Rudy

 

Do you get buzz or pops on the AM radio? If so, an ignition wire could
have a broken conductor.

 

Rudy, newer remote controls are more sensitive to rf interference
because they are now transceivers instead of just transmitters. The
antenna and environment around the operator itself is essentially
unchanged but now the itty bitty antenna in the remote must also be a
receiver to negotiate an offset for rolling code security. this little
antenna is more susceptible to shielding, gain fluctuation and noise.
Your ignition wires are likely starting to break down and having their
effect on a marginal transmission. Try a new battery, also try
relocating the remote - remember that rf energy falls off at the
square of the distance so what you might consider a negligible 6 inch
offset in location appears to the receiver like 3 feet.

 

Is the transmitter one that is built into the visor or roof console or
is it a standard garage door opener transmitter that is normally hung
on the visor w/ a clip? If it is built-in I would guess that something
like a short is drawing off the transmitter power when the car is
running. If it is a stand alone transmitter the transmitter battery
could be weak (do not use alkaline batteries) or the transmitter could
be slightly out of tune and the running engine blocks out the weak
signal. There is also the chance that your receiver in the garage is
sending out a weaker signal then what it use to.

Doordoc
www.DoorsAndOpeners.com

 

I have the same old hand held garage door opener I've had before
this problem started. It is NOT one of those newer, more secure openers
with the rolling or encrypted code. Replacing the battery seems to make
no difference. There must be some kind of RF interference emitted from
the running car that seems to act as a jammer on the garage door
transmitter and I figure it must have started after one of the regular
service visits but I did not make the mental connection right away. I
used to be able to open or close the garage from the street at the end
of my driweway but now I have to work at it with the car's front almost
touching the garage door. It's really frustrating.

Rudy

 

It maybe just a coincidence between the recent service on the car and
the door opener not receiving as well. It is possible that something
in the house is causing the door opener to not receive the
transmitters signal as well. You may have a situation where the door
opener receiver is being desensed or overloaded with an unwanted
signal. A baby monitor, cordless phone are some possibilities.

This doesn't have anything to do with a door opener but I once had an
interference problem with my satellite dish on certain channels. I
eventually traced it down to a UPS on my computer. So maybe something
as innocuous as this might be interfering. Start by turning things
off in the house and see where that may lead you.

I installed two openers in my parents garages a number of years ago.
Both worked equally well but then one day my mother was complaining
that the door on her side of the garage wasn't working as well. She
complained that she had to be right in front of the door to open it.
We tried a new battery in the transmitter but that didn't help. What
it turned out to be was my father decided to install brackets on the
garage ceiling to hang his aluminum ladder in order to get it off the
floor of the garage. The ladder was causing the door opener mechanism
to not receive as well. Removing the ladder from the ceiling made the
opener operate as it should. Putting it back and the problem
reappeared. An adjustment on the little wire antenna improved
reception but not like it was without the ladder being near the
opener.

But first try reorienting the little wire antenna on the door opening
mechanism if it has one sticking out the back.

Just a few ideas. Hope this helps.

Bob

 

Rudy,
One other idea. Try using your handheld transmitter outside of the
car with the car turned off and walking up and down your driveway.
That should give you an idea if the car is interfering or not.

 

So if you put the transmitter in a different car w/ it running does it
work or is the problem only there when it is in your car. This would
narrow now whether the interfrence comes from your car or if the
transmitter has a crack in the solder or loose part & it is the
vibration of the car running causing the problem as opposed to a radio
interference.

I once see a problem where if the customer parked a particular car in
the garage or driveway (without it running)all the transmitters quit
working unless you touched the receiver antenna w/ the transmitter. If
you took that one car down the street all of the transmitters worked
fine. They were also old radio controls that the problem started w/
the car battery being changed. I reasoned that the interference was
coming from his car alarm but his mechanics couldn't eliminate the
problem. After a few weeks of fighting it, we ended up changing his
receiver & transmitters to a different brand that was on a different
frequency to get them to work. (His other choice would have been to
sell the car, but he really liked the Mercedes convertible). However,
it was one of those rare occasions that no-one really new for sure
what was causing the problem.

A thought that just comes to mind. Does your car have GPS or some time
of satellite tracking system built in? If so disconnect it & see if
the problem goes away.

Doordoc
www.DoorsAndOpeners.com

 

Bob, you did not pay close attention to my original post which I
started as so:
"I noticed lately that the effective range of my garage door opener is
greatly reduced when the engine is running vis-a-vis when it is not."
That makes it obvious that it is something in the running engine.
However, I may have found the source. Something in the heater control
unit because when no button is pushed , the problem seems to be gone.
This could explain why I have been experiencing the problem only
recently. Because I have one of the heater buttons pressed only since
the cold weather. Otherwise none of the heater buttons are pressed. I
need to experiment more with this discovery but it looks like a
promising lead. However I still am greatful for the helpful tips you
all suggested.

Rudy