Garage door opener doesn’t work with engine running

[Zorad1000]

1999 Suburban. So it has taken me about a year to figure out that the problem with my garage door opener is actually a problem with my Suburban. What happens is , the door opener works fine as long as the engine isn’t running but when I start the engine it won’t close or open the door, then I can turn off the engine and it will work fine again. But wait there’s more...after driving for a while and coming home the remote will open the door just fine with the engine running.
I suspect there is some kind of interference coming from the alternator or the ignition system. I forgot to mention that the door opener is not a factory installed option on my vehicle , it is a hand held remote. Before getting this far I tried a new battery for the remote, I swapped remotes with my car and I bought a new remote for the Suburban and I got a new battery for that remote. Nothing solved the problem. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[zora]

Have you tried moving the antenna on the garage door motor?

 

[Zorad1000]

Have you tried moving the antenna on the garage door motor?

No I don’t remember doing that. But before I discovered that I could turn off the engine to get it to work I would leave the engine running and get out of the truck and walk over to the door , stick my arm into the garage and I’d have to press the button several to get the door to close .

 

[Zorad1000]

No I don’t remember doing that. But before I discovered that I could turn off the engine to get it to work I would leave the engine running and get out of the truck and walk over to the door , stick my arm into the garage and I’d have to press the button several to get the door to close .

So I just looked at the antenna it is hanging as close to straight down as it can . Looks like I took the rear plastic cover off and straightened out the antenna at some point.

 

[zora]

Try having it go to left or right to see if it gets better reception.
In my case I have Sears and found the remotes fail, I have a collection of them that either dont work or are sporadic, and LiftMaster makes a better replacement.

 

[Zorad1000]

Try having it go to left or right to see if it gets better reception.
In my case I have Sears and found the remotes fail, I have a collection of them that either dont work or are sporadic, and LiftMaster makes a better replacement.

Ok thanks for the help.

 

[Zorad1000]

So I finally started hearing a bearing noise from the alternator, I decided to replace it and now my garage door opener works as it should . Must have been some kind of RF interference coming from the alternator. I’ve seen this happen before . an engine would run rough with the alternator plugged up but smooth out when I unplugged the alternator. I guess it was interfering with the ECM or ignition module .

 

[zora]

Thanks for the update.

 

[LiziGeku]

The problem is not in the car but your garage antenna or something like this. It might be that the radio waves are not reaching the final destination for closing or opening the garage door. I know how annoying is this thing, so I can advise you to work with the guys from Driveway Gate Contractors. These guys installed for me the best gate for my garage, and I am delighted with it. Also, they are the best on the market regarding repairs to easily find and solve the problem.