The small garage door opener I tote around in the Tour Easy’s underseat bag failed after many years of exposure to the elements, so I paid a few bucks more for a cheap replacement in order to get fast delivery from a (US!) eBay supplier:
For whatever it’s worth, before buying the replacement I tried:
- Cleaning the battery contacts
- Installing a new CR2032 battery
- Programming the hitherto-unused buttons to open the door
The remote control would occasionally work, but none of the “repairs” made much difference; I suspect corrosion hidden under the components or cracked solder joints.
The eBay item description clearly, if inarticulately, specifies the compatibility requirement:
key chain remote control
compatible for purple learn button
So I trotted out to the garage and inspected the button:
Looks purple to me, but, being that type of guy, I also read the adjacent instruction sticker:
Nobody, nobody, maintains the documentation. [sigh]
I figured if they went to all the trouble of ordering a bazillion switches with purple caps, then the PCB surely holds the corresponding RF filters & firmware & whatever else that button signifies.
Seeing as how we have exactly one garage door opener and no lights or other doodads, I told the opener to obey both the 1 and 2 buttons, thereby dramatically reducing the dexterity required to open the door while pedaling up the driveway. The opener can remember an unspecified number of transmitters, so I didn’t go for all four buttons.
The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning 
If I ever end up around your corner of the world now I know where to look for your garage door opener :)
It’s a definite case of security through obscurity, if we agree something in a mesh pocket of an underseat bag can be obscure. The incredible visual clutter of the rest of the bike renders it essentially invisible; some folks never even notice the bags.
Sort of how in the I.T. world flashing green is ok, flashing orange is a a scary thing and red — prepare for Armageddon.