# B'oh! Garage door remote broken, only access to garage is through remote-opened door. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 17, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492 "2010-04-17T23:16:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/1 "2010-04-17T23:16:44Z")
Well, this blows. I have an external garage, and the only way in is through the garage door. This all worked out fine as long as I had the opener working, but I just dropped it and it will no longer work. Oops! I’ve tried taking out the battery and putting it in again, but no go. It definitely made an audible noise before, but doesn’t now, so I’m sure it’s the remote. There’s no external PIN pad or anything like that for the garage. I tried googling the problem but the company that made my opener (an “Overhead Door ™ Touch 'N Go”) no longer seems to exist. Most people seem to recommend purchasing a universal remote, which would be fine, except it seems to require access to the actual opener unit… which is securely stowed in my now-unaccessible garage.I do have the labels on it with the model, frequency, and manufacturing number, but they don’t seem to be any good without the original company available for support. Fortunately, my car wasn’t parked in there so it’s not critical I solve this today, but I’d really like to be able to get in there soon as all my yardwork stuff is in there, as well as some things I was planning to take on a road trip next weekend. Any thoughts to troubleshoot this mess? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/2 "2010-04-17T23:22:56Z")
There should be a manual override. Look for a handle dangling. Pull on that and the door should unlatch. Raising it is difficult, but not impossible after it’s loose. ETA: I assumed you had access to the inside of the garage, where the override is. If you don’t, I guess it’s different problem. Call an expert? ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/3 "2010-04-17T23:25:31Z")
If you can manually raise the door it wouldn’t hurt to have someone assist you, as such doors can be quite heavy and they need to be lifted evenly. Shove something like a chair or stepladder under it after you get it open so as to eliminate possibility of dropping said door on your foot until you have a new opening/closing system up and running. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/4 "2010-04-17T23:26:33Z")
No, I can’t manually raise it. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2010, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/5 "2010-04-17T23:28:41Z")
Hulk smash? ---
**Author:** ![beowulff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beowulff/32/542_2.png) [@beowulff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/beowulff)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/6 "2010-04-18T00:07:09Z")
Have someone skilled in electronic repairs look at your remote - it’s probably cracked PCB. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/7 "2010-04-18T00:08:37Z")
That company apparently produced remotes operating at a range of frequencies, and had a lot of DIP switches to set the code. If you can get the frequency and code from the remote you have, you may be able to use one of [these](http://www.remote4u.com/index.php?categoryID=40). On further research, Overhead Door Corporation is very much in business, and you can find a distributor [here](http://www.overheaddoor.com/FindaDistributor.aspx). ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/8 "2010-04-18T00:43:16Z")
What kind of person builds a garage like that? ---
**Author:** ![Gukumatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/74df32/32.png) [@Gukumatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gukumatz)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/9 "2010-04-18T02:53:29Z")
Overhead Door seems to still exist: [http://www.overheaddoor.com/](http://www.overheaddoor.com/) ---
**Author:** ![IAmNotSpartacus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@IAmNotSpartacus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IAmNotSpartacus)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/10 "2010-04-18T03:13:50Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > What kind of person builds a garage like that? I’ll wager the door was manually opened when the garage was built, and the opener was installed much later. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/11 "2010-04-18T03:25:23Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > What kind of person builds a garage like that? people in high crime areas ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/12 "2010-04-18T04:03:54Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > Well, this blows. I have an external garage, and the only way in is through the garage door. This all worked out fine as long as I had the opener working, but I just dropped it and it will no longer work. Oops! It would be quite unusual for a reputable installer to set up a door in this manner (without an emergency release). There’s usually an emergency release lock somewhere on the front of the door - usually in the center, most of the way up. Assuming the normal white panel door, look for a silver circle around the size of a dime (which may be in the middle of a larger mounting plate). If you unlock that lock, the whole lock will pop out of the door and have a steel cable attached to it. Pulling on the cable is the external release for the inside emergency handle. Even if you don’t have the key for the emergency release, having a locksmith come out is likely less expensive than trying to brute-force your way through the door and then repairing it. ---
**Author:** ![fluiddruid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@fluiddruid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fluiddruid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/13 "2010-04-18T04:11:13Z")
> [@Nametag](#): > > On further research, Overhead Door Corporation is very much in business, and you can find a distributor [here](http://www.overheaddoor.com/FindaDistributor.aspx). Thanks very much! Long story short, I did a bunch of searches of the name of the device and the model number, and all that came up were forum posts saying it had closed down. That’ll learn me to not be too trusting. Good news: I decided to replace the battery as a just-in-case measure. When I was doing so, I saw some corrosion from the old battery. I cleaned it out and put in the new battery, and now it’s working again! However, it was definitely a good warning (what if my car had been in there?!) so I’ll be contacting a distributor to see if I can get a back-up remote. Terry Kennedy, thanks for the info as well. I’ll take a look for future reference. Johnpost, I don’t live in a high crime area. I’m in a Des Moines suburb and it’s a nice area. External garages are just very common around here and most don’t have a secondary door. I just bought my first home, and it’s in a neighborhood built in the 50s with very few attached garages. Most garage seem to be of the variety where you can just pull in one car, though mine also has an attached patio area (not accessible from within the garage, oddly). I would definitely believe that the openers came later, considering it’s installed using an extension cord. :smack: Yeah, shitty garage, but honestly not worth my while to replace; frankly, I’d be better off just moving to a different house. Someday… 😃 Thanks, all! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/14 "2010-04-18T04:16:54Z")
Aside from a backup remote, you might still want to install the manual emergency release, just in case of a power outage. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/15 "2010-04-18T04:37:55Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > people in high crime areas Have you given thought to putting in a steel door and then reinforcing the frame? I did this along with building my own windows. They have 1/2 " acrylic glass in a steel reinforced 2x4 frame. You really need an entry that works in case the power is off. I was going to suggest you install a [hatch](http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/maintenance/access-doors/access-doors/galvanized-roof-hatch-24-x-24?utm_source=google_pr&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Access-Doors-google_pr&infoParam.campaignId=T9F)in the roof as a cheep alternative to a door but hooeee that was an expensive suggestion. Overhead Doors can probably hook you up with a new opener if it’s so old it has a code to it. If not, I just installed a steel door with 2 locks for less than $150 so you can always sawzall your way in as a Saturday project. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/16 "2010-04-18T07:02:00Z")
You definitely want an externally accessible emergency release. Chains break, gears strip, motors wear out. I have the kind **Terry Kennedy** described – works great. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/17 "2010-04-18T07:34:06Z")
> [@fluiddruid](#): > > I would definitely believe that the openers came later, considering it’s installed using an extension cord. :smack: If that’s the case, it is quite possibly no longer (or ever) legal. Do you have the photoelectric beam across the bottom that reverses the door if something breaks the beam? And, does it reverse on its own if it hits an object (try it with the thin side of a 2x4)? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/18 "2010-04-18T11:58:28Z")
IANA builder, but I’ve never seen a piece of building code which requred retrofit to existing undisturbed construction. So even if the opener lacks every current safety feature, it’ll be legally 100% fine to continue to use until / unless he does significant rework to the garage. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/19 "2010-04-18T14:45:25Z")
> [@johnpost](#): > > people in high crime areas You misunderstand, I think–I meant, a garage with no other door. Every one I’ve had has had (at least) one vehicle/equipment door and (at least) one person door. > [@fluiddruid](#): > > …mine also has an attached patio area (not accessible from within the garage, oddly). So, a good place to cut in your person door. ---
**Author:** ![Terry\_Kennedy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c57346/32.png) [@Terry\_Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terry_Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2010, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492/20 "2010-04-18T16:23:43Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IANA builder, but I’ve never seen a piece of building code which requred retrofit to existing undisturbed construction. So even if the opener lacks every current safety feature, it’ll be legally 100% fine to continue to use until / unless he does significant rework to the garage. In general, newer building codes don’t apply to pre-existing work, **if** that work was acceptable to the previous code. The fact that it is plugged into a “permanent” extension cord would most likely be evidence that the installation was **not** in compliance with the National Electrical Code in force at the time of the installation. If the opener is less than 17 years old, it was required to have these safety devices. The combination of extension cord and no (apparent) outside emergency release makes me think this was not a professional install, so the requirements at the time it was installed may not have been met. [CPSC Flyer on Garage Door Openers](http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/523.html) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/boh-garage-door-remote-broken-only-access-to-garage-is-through-remote-opened-door/536492.md?page=2)