Garage Door Cable Repair. Usually, garage doors are the most important and heavy doors on a building. They can weigh up to 500 pounds or more! However, cables attached to tension or torsion springs make it easier to lift and lower the doors that are so big and heavy. Moving that door can be very difficult if those cables fall off a pulley or break. Some things to keep in mind if you need to fix or replace, reconnect, or safely rewind your garage door cables.
Garage Door Cable Repair: what to know before you fix them
Before you try to fix a garage door wire, you need to know what kind of cable repair system it is and how it works. Cable systems make a garage door easier to open and close. Controlled by torsion springs, but one is a cable, and the other is an extension spring.
Cables controlled by torsion springs
The springs are mostly mounted horizontally on a header above the garage door’s opening. It’s a long bar with two high-tension springs coil around it. At each end, there is a grooved roller drum that moves. The bottom of each door panel has a cable to the grooved roller.
The cable winds around the roller as the door rises, and the spring isn’t as tight as before. To lower it, the cable relaxes so that it can move freely. The tension on the spring increases as well. The coil springs are under more stress. When the door is closed to make it easier to lift the door. This makes it easier to lift, but it also puts more strain on the wires.
Extension cable
Extension springs used to be used only in garages that didn’t have enough space for a torsion system. They have become more common in the last two decades because they are easier and safer to install. A different way of attaching the springs is to attach them to each horizontal track. This way, the springs don’t have to be always under tension.
It starts with the spring, goes through another pulley, and ends at the bottom of the door frame. There is less stress in the spring when you raise the door. When you do this, the cable is usually a little loose. The spring gets bigger as the door comes down because of the cable and the door’s weight.
Safety wires
Safety cables run through the extension springs and are attached to the door frame. They don’t stop the spring from moving, but if the door cable or the spring itself breaks, they’ll keep the spring from moving. Its only goal is to keep things from getting damaged or hurt.
Tips on how to fix a cable on a garage door
Garage doors are heavy and have many moving parts to keep track of and clean. The cables use the energy from the coiled springs to help lift the door and slow its fall down. Wear or fraying can happen to a cable.
It can become disconnected or unbuckled, slip off a pulley, stretch out, or break. A broken garage door wire can be hazardous, so it is good to know how to fix one. People who have torsion springs or extension springs for their cable system decide how to reattach and replace the cable system.
Check the Cable
Regular checks of the lift cables can help avoid damage or injury. Before the cables break. They are more likely to fall off drum rollers or slip off pulleys when the door is fully open. It could be that the cables have gotten longer or a clamp has fallen off. Which caused the sag in the floor. To make sure this doesn’t happen, you should tighten the cables.
Cable Repair: Close the Door
How far the door is open when the cable breaks or comes loose will affect this step. It doesn’t matter if the door is fully open or only partially open. If it is, attach a C-clamp to a track near but not too close to the bottom wheel. This will stop the door from moving down.
Cable Repair: Remove the Garage Door Opener
You should turn the garage door opener’s power source off and disconnect it from the mechanism that lifts the door. This way, you won’t hurt it. If you need to move the door, this will also help. Find the release pull rope and tug at it to free the coupling.
People can come in
The door must be fully open to get the torsion or extension springs to release their stress. This will make it easier to replace or reattach the cables. Clamp it in place, so it doesn’t roll down when the door is fully open. Heavy doors may need two or three people to lift them. So the door doesn’t get stuck or get hurt.
Check out the Springs
Shock waves can damage springs when a cable breaks. This can happen when an extension or torsion spring is broken. Check the springs for cracks or breaks and replace them if broken. Loose cables may be caused by a torsion spring that slips, which may require tightening and rewinding of the spring to fix it.
Take the initiative
As soon as you need to change one cable because it is fraying or damaged by rust, it’s best to change both lift cables simultaneously. It’s also good to change the bottom mounting bracket when you change the cables. Keep an eye out for damage where the extension spring door cable connects to the upper frame.
Use the Right Tools
C-clamps or blocks and clamps can hold the door in place on both tracks. Use a ladder or step stool when working at a height above your chest. It’s safer and gives you more strength to do the job than you reach. Use pliers, vice-grips, a hammer, wrenches, screwdrivers, and winding bars to get things to work the way they need to. For extra safety, wear safety glasses and gloves.
How to Fix a Garage Door Cable
People who have broken their garage door cable have two options: You can either buy a new cable from a store or fix it yourself. You can quickly learn how to fix the cables on your garage door, or you can hire someone to do it. The following are some things to do if you decide to repair yourself:
Unplug the Electric Opener
Pull the release cord on the electric door opener to disconnect it from the garage door and remove it from the garage door. If the door is open somehow, use a C-clamp to keep it from rolling shut.
Lift the Door
Lift the door evenly into a fully open position so that the extension or torsion springs don’t have to work as hard.
Keep the Door Closed
It helps put a C-clamp under the bottom wheel guide on each track to keep the door open.
