How Broken Cables Affect Garage Door Safety in Plain City
Published by A1 Garage Repair LLC
Lift cables connect the springs to the door, so when one breaks the door loses support on that side and can jam, hang crooked or drop. Stop using the door and have the cables replaced by a technician.
What lift cables and drums do
A garage door is heavy, and the springs carry that weight. The lift cables are how the springs reach the door. Each cable is attached to a bracket at a bottom corner of the door and runs up to a grooved drum at the end of the torsion shaft above the opening.
When the door opens, the spring turns the shaft, the drums wind up the cable, and the door rises. When it closes, the cable pays back out and the spring winds tighter. Both cables have to wind at the same rate for the door to stay level.
Doors with extension springs use cables and pulleys along the horizontal tracks instead of drums. These doors should also have a safety cable threaded through each spring, which holds the spring in place if it snaps.
What happens when a cable breaks or comes off the drum
With one cable gone, only one side of the door is being held. That side keeps lifting while the other stays put, so the door tilts and wedges itself in the tracks. If the door was open when the cable failed, the unsupported side can come down hard.
The remaining cable is now carrying a load it was never meant to carry alone, and it is being pulled at an angle. It can fail next. Rollers can pop out of the track, sections can bend, and the tracks themselves can be pulled out of line.
A cable does not have to snap to cause trouble. If it goes slack and jumps off the drum, the result is much the same: a crooked door and a tangle of cable at the top corner.
Signs a cable is wearing out
Cables usually give some warning. Look at them from a safe distance with the door closed, and do not touch them.
Cables wear from use, from rust, and from running over drums or pulleys that are worn or out of line. A broken spring can also throw a cable, since the tension that holds it on the drum disappears at once.
- Broken strands sticking out from the cable, often near the bottom bracket
- Rust or discoloration, especially on the lowest part of the cable where moisture collects
- A cable that looks loose or hangs away from the door on one side
- A door that rises unevenly, with one side ahead of the other
- A gap under one corner when the door is closed
- Scraping, popping or rubbing sounds from the top corners as the door moves
Why running the opener makes it worse
The natural reaction to a stuck door is to press the button again. With a broken cable, that is the wrong move. The opener will try to drag a door that is jammed and unbalanced, which can bend the top section, strip the opener’s gears or pull the door further out of the tracks.
Pulling the manual release is risky too. If the door is partly open and the cables are not holding it, releasing it from the opener can let it fall. Leave the door where it is and keep people, pets and vehicles clear of it. If a car is stuck inside, say so when you call, so the technician knows what to expect.
Why cable replacement is not a do-it-yourself job
Cables look simple, and that is deceptive. They are tied into the spring system, and the bottom brackets they attach to are under the full spring load. Loosening the wrong bolt can release that force without warning.
To replace a cable properly, a technician secures the door, unwinds the spring tension with the correct winding bars, fits new cables rated for the door’s weight, seats them in the drums, and re-tensions the springs so both sides pull evenly. Both cables are normally replaced together, because the second has seen the same wear as the first.
The visit should also cover the cause. Worn drums, frayed pulleys, a bent track or a seized roller will chew through a new cable if left in place.
What to do if it happens at your home in Plain City
Stop using the door, unplug the opener if you can reach the outlet safely, and call for service. A1 Garage Repair LLC’s shop is on Industrial Parkway in Plain City, and cable repair is one of our regular services. The work is done by our own trained technicians, and parts we replace carry a 3-year warranty.
Call (614) 500-4377 and we will get you on the schedule. You will hear the price before the repair begins.
If a cable is frayed, slack or broken, leave the door where it is, keep everyone away from it, and call a technician instead of running the opener or attempting the repair.
Related service: Garage Door Cable Repair