That sounds like a problem with the photocell safety circuit.

Check the photocell safety circuit for alignment, dirty lenses, etc.
When our house was new, we had a problem in the summer with late
afternoon sun blinding the receiver. Had to have somebody stand and
shadow the receiver in order to close the door. Problem went away when
the olive tree in the front yard grew enough to block the late
afternoon summer sun.

Jerry

Had similar time of day problem. Was able to make the system work
properly during this sun blinding time period by just making sure the
eyes were squeaky clean. Minimize the diffusion of the sunlight.