Led interference

[Mcfam]

We installed 8’ led strip lights in the shop and now the door remote doesn’t work unless the lights are off.
I put ferrets on the hot and neutral of each incoming wire of the fixtures, wrapped the opener pwr cord several times through a toroid, put ferrit on opener pwr cord, and on control wires. Did not help. What else can I try?

 

[Junkman]

Get rid of the LED lighting.

 

[Mcfam]

That’s real helpful

 

[WillyBoy]

Some, not all LED lights create significant RF "hash". In my shop, with the lights on, AM radio stations have so much interference that they're not worth trying to listen to.
The opener power cord isn't how the interference is getting to the opener receiver. Try extending the opener antenna or move it closer to an outside wall.

 

[theoldwizard1]

The opener power cord isn't how the interference is getting to the opener receiver. Try extending the opener antenna or move it closer to an outside wall.

CORRECT !

It is the AC-DC power supply that is causing the problem. Try wrapping it in aluminum foil.

 

[mm08822]

Where is the controller antenna in relation to the lights and other wireless door controllers? Are these wireless wall-mounted controllers or vehicle controllers?

As a test, disconnect a few of the lights closest to the controller as and see if allows any functionality.

 

[jack stand]

CORRECT !

It is the AC-DC power supply that is causing the problem. Try wrapping it in aluminum foil.

Like this?

 

[BillK]

Like the others said it is not coming through the power cord. Turn on an AM radio and then turn the lights on and off and you will see what the problems is. Not really much you can do about it I bet the fixtures are "commercial" rated. They dont have the rfi suppression that residential fixtures have.

 

[BillK]

That’s real helpful

Unfortunately it is the truth. You need to get "residential" fixtures that meet the correct rfi standards.

 

[Codyboy]

I would try to extend the antenna to the outside.

On my gate I lengthened the antenna with some catv coax and got it up higher.

 

[Youngandfree]

That’s real helpful

The interference isn't in the power cord, it's RF from the actual LED and driver. Cheap LED's are known for that.

 

[LopezBart]

put ferrets on the hot and neutral of each incoming wire of the fixtures

Ferrets are used to run electrical cables, interestingly enough.

 

[OliviaLopez]

We installed 8’ led strip lights in the shop and now the door remote doesn’t work unless the lights are off.
I put ferrets on the hot and neutral of each incoming wire of the fixtures, wrapped the opener pwr cord several times through a toroid, put ferrit on opener pwr cord, and on control wires. Did not help. What else can I try?

Yeah, that’s LED interference, pretty common.

Ferrites don’t always fix it because the issue is usually the LED driver itself. Easiest things to try:

• Turn lights on one by one, might be just one bad fixture
• Try a different (better quality) LED brand
• Move or extend the opener antenna away from wiring/lights
• Put the lights and opener on separate circuits if possible

Honestly, most of the time it’s just cheap/noisy LEDs causing it. Swapping them fixes it.

 

[larry4406]

I had a screw in LED lightbulb in the hall shower.

Every morning when one of the daughters would take a shower, it would knock off OTA TV channels on the adjacent family room TV.

Drove me nuts trying to figure it out. Swapped the bulb, cured.

This was a LED screw in bulb to a standard 6” recess light fixture.

 

[Smilodon]

What if the two ferrets touch each other? Seems cruel.

 

[dcg9381]

We installed 8’ led strip lights in the shop and now the door remote doesn’t work unless the lights are off.

Login to the router, set the "channel" to the high side or low side of the spread. See if that helps.

 

[stingry]

Low interference led lights are available which should solve your problem.

 

[Junkman]

What if the two ferrets touch each other? Seems cruel.

You might get little ferrets. Cute animals that can become vicious if you don't handle them consistently.

 

[Mikeske]

I have this problem also with the LED lights interfering when I use my garage door remote. I am normally leaving when I have this issue and it's a good reminder to me to shut the lights off. The secondary issue is the fact garage is a metal pole building and that cuts down the antenna also. I ended up extending the antenna wire out the front louver vents under my yard light to alleviate that issue but the LED lights still interfere if I leave them on. I just work around the limitations of the garage remote and making sure I shut off the lights when I leave.

 

[LopezBart]

You might get little ferrets. Cute animals that can become vicious if you don't handle them consistently.

Get a leg up on your friends... discover ferret legging: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferret-legging

 

[BurtEggley]

Leds, cameras, mowers, leaf blowers - may things do it. Either replace the lights with ones designed to not interfere, or get a newer opener designed to avoid being interfered with. Our newest garage door opener uses three different frequencies at the same time so if one is being blocked, the other will work. Been in your shoes. As someone said - it is the switching power supply that is making the noise. Sometimes you can add a capacitor across it and that will filter out the noise.

 

[OliviaLopez]

Has it been solved already?

 

[WisJim]

Get a leg up on your friends... discover ferret legging: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferret-legging

Ferret legging is what comes to mind first when I hear the word "ferrets". And how smelly the critters can be.

 

[theoldwizard1]

It is not the LEDs themselves. It is the power supply !

 

[rattle_snake]

Most LED switching supplies operate in the 10s to 100s of khz, and spew harmonics of all orders, through the air.

The answer is improving signal-to-noise ratio, move stuff around, shield if possible, as others have suggested. Noise away from receiver.

Sometime I have to shut off my vehicle off to get door opener to function.