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09-14-13, 01:11 PM | #1 |
Journeyman EcoRenovator
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CFL and LED light bulbs and Garage Door opener Range
One day the garage door opener didn't work when pulling into the driveway. It was only until I was a few feet in front of the door did it open. I contacted the manufacturer of the opener who determined that the logic board was bad and promptly sent me out a new one free of charge. My door opener was 6 years old. Had I bought the logic board, it would have been over $125.
A few days later, I put the new one in and the range was still the same. After another call to the manufacturer, they then determined it was the motor, to which they promptly sent a new one free of charge. I even went as far as turning off all the breakers to determine if there was a interference issue with something in the house. It wasn't that. Standing on the ladder and looking at the opener, it dawned on me that I installed the new CFL and then the LED light bulbs in the opener. I took them out and the range came back to like it was when new! I found a 60 watt old style bulb and it works just fine with that. So, if you are having issues with range on your door opener, this might be your problem. |
09-15-13, 12:44 PM | #2 |
Master EcoRenovator
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What happens if you remove the bulb all together?
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09-16-13, 06:05 PM | #3 |
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09-17-13, 08:07 AM | #4 |
Master EcoRenovator
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But you didn't try it without a bulb in at all to see if it needed a bulb in there to work right.
Incandescent bulbs don't tend to handle vibration very well, so they make incandescent bulbs that have heavier filaments for high vibration use. If your garage door opener works without the bulb you might get a motion sensor switch that can work with LED's, that's what I have in my garage, it turns on as soon as the garage door is opened or as soon as someone walks in the garage. |
09-17-13, 08:32 AM | #5 |
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Sorry, yes I did leave out the bulbs to see if it opens or has range issues and it works fine. Ryland, the door opener also does have that cool feature you described.
Even the tough bulbs that I put in there haven't lasted as long as the CFL and LED bulbs. I even went bought a whole house surge suppressor thinking that was the problem. We are going to try the Sylvania bulbs that NeilBlanchard mentioned and see if those don't interfere with the RF signals. |
09-17-13, 10:31 PM | #6 |
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Other thing to try would be to move the bulb further from the receiver, light socket extension cords are not common any more, but you can make one with a cheap clamp on lamp and a screw in lamp socket to outlet dohicky, I have some extension cords that are a male and female lamp socket on either end.
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09-15-13, 05:27 PM | #7 |
Steve Hull
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Very impressive customer service - what garage door opener company?
Bizarre that removing the CFL and LED shortened the reception range of the receiver. How 'bout putting back just the CFL (or the LED) bulb to figure out which is the culprit? Steve
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09-16-13, 06:11 PM | #8 | |
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Quote:
I did try both and they both shorten the range by 30 feet or more. They are both Feit Electric bulbs, bought at Costco. As a side note, the CFL bulbs from Feit Electric kept burning out. I think we had them maybe 4 years. They did however replace any that had burnt out free of charge. But when the LED bulbs came out, I was all over that and replaced all of the CFL in the house and garage. |
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09-16-13, 08:17 PM | #9 |
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I like the Sylvania LED, and they seem to have less "interactive" circuitry than other brands. These are meant specifically for fans and other vibration prone fixtures:
Shop SYLVANIA 8-Watt (40W) A15 Soft White (2700K) LED Bulb at Lowes.com |
09-15-13, 08:07 PM | #10 |
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There is RFI generated in LED and CFL bulbs - though sometimes different brands will be fine.
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