# Homelink auto open/close (distance) issue



## Protect1989 (Feb 22, 2019)

My homelink is all set up and working. However when I pull directly in front of my garage the homelink pops up and says “auto open/close in _______ feet”. 


Basically it’s not auto opening even when I’m in front of my door. 

Is there a secret to the setup I don’t know? When I added my garage door to homelink, should my vehicle have been parked further away from the door?


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Protect1989 said:


> Is there a secret to the setup I don't know?


You can configure it for how far you should be from the house when it opens.

The distance measurement isn't very accurate, but it tends to be precise. So for your case, set it up to open another 5-10 feet further away from your house, and you'll probably be good.

I have mine set for 50 ft, and it opens & closes at about 10 ft from the garage door.


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## Skione65 (Apr 4, 2016)

@garsh,

Agreed. Mine is set for 70' and opens at about 20'!

Ski


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## Protect1989 (Feb 22, 2019)

So currently mine is set for 10’ and when I’m right in front of the door it says I have another 30’ till auto open or close. 

Now I also live in a townhouse where the garages face each other. Meaning I wasn’t pulled directly in front with the nose of my car facing my garage but rather parallel to my garage door (drivers door was in front of garage door instead of nose of vehicle). 

Would that make any difference? Does it program the number of feet away from the garage door opener OR from where the vehicle was when you set it up?


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## Skione65 (Apr 4, 2016)

@Protect1989,

Probably from the opener 'antenna' itself and not the garage door. That would make my measurements 'alittle' more accurate.

Ski


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

Protect1989 said:


> Does it program the number of feet away from the garage door opener OR from where the vehicle was when you set it up?


It's not clear. My _guess_ is that it's based on GPS positioning of your address, and has nothing to do with where the vehicle was when configured or distance from the garage door opener.

But that's not really important anyhow. Just adjust that number as needed until it works.


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## Protect1989 (Feb 22, 2019)

Thanks everyone. I’ll play around with it and increase the distance. See if I can make it work properly.


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## shareef777 (Mar 10, 2019)

I set it up while the car was parked inside the garage. Works perfectly. Very accurate.


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## Protect1989 (Feb 22, 2019)

shareef777 said:


> I set it up while the car was parked inside the garage. Works perfectly. Very accurate.


Interesting. I might have to delete my garage and retry it. That makes perfect sense if it goes by the antenna. Worth a shot!


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## MelindaV (Apr 2, 2016)

I almost always have to re-hit the button for mine to open. It closes every day exactly as I'm hitting the edge of my driveway/sidewalk, but coming home, I've tried everything between 80 and 20 feet with mixed results. I think in my case, it is the angle of the car (either side to side, or angled up/down) that doesn't have the radio signal getting to the opener's receiver. if I manually hit the homeland button it will almost always open (but not always), but is normally after I've had to come to a complete stop in the driveway directly in front of the door.
I don't think for mine, distance is an issue, with my stock garage door opener, I can hit the button as I am coming around the turn in the road over 120 feet away.


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## TheHairyOne (Nov 28, 2018)

Finally figured out that my issue was caused by the receiver wire being chewed by rats. Was taking 3-8 tries to open but would always close. Replacing wire soon, youtube also recommended against led or florescent bulbs near receiver due to EMI.


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## JasonF (Oct 26, 2018)

Protect1989 said:


> Is there a secret to the setup I don't know? When I added my garage door to homelink, should my vehicle have been parked further away from the door?


Garage door openers just suck. I'm sometimes sitting right in front of the door, and pushing the on-screen button repeatedly, and nothing happens. Then I pull out the pushbutton remote from the center storage bin. Sometimes the door opener ignores that, too. And I don't have a cheap one, either - it's a Chamberlain with battery backup and MyQ.


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## garsh (Apr 4, 2016)

TheHairyOne said:


> youtube also recommended against led or florescent bulbs near receiver due to EMI.


Thanks for the reminder. My garage door opener user manual also warned against using LEDs due to interference.
I currently have CFLs in it, and they haven't been a problem.


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## SoFlaModel3 (Apr 15, 2017)

MelindaV said:


> I almost always have to re-hit the button for mine to open. It closes every day exactly as I'm hitting the edge of my driveway/sidewalk, but coming home, I've tried everything between 80 and 20 feet with mixed results. I think in my case, it is the angle of the car (either side to side, or angled up/down) that doesn't have the radio signal getting to the opener's receiver. if I manually hit the homeland button it will almost always open (but not always), but is normally after I've had to come to a complete stop in the driveway directly in front of the door.
> I don't think for mine, distance is an issue, with my stock garage door opener, I can hit the button as I am coming around the turn in the road over 120 feet away.


Strange thing - my car works perfectly for the gate to our neighborhood and our garage but my wife's car only works for the garage. Same setup steps and auto open on our gate just never hits in the right place with her car.


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