When the garage door cable isn’t working well, this could affect the function of your entire garage. This can be especially inconvenient and could even compromise the safety of your family. Although the garage door cable is a central part of the door system, you may not always have to call a professional to fix the problem for you. Keep these tips in mind for fixing your garage door cable (below). Remember, safety first – make sure you’re comfortable with the repair process before you begin.
The cable is an essential part of your garage door. The cable is a safety mechanism that goes through the springs and does the lifting each time you bring the garage door up or down. Garage door cables also serve as backup if the springs fail to work and protect against recoil. If your garage door is cabled properly, the springs will simply fall to the ground if they snap, which can prevent damage and injury. This is why it’s so important for the cables to be properly aligned in the garage door.
There are several reasons why a garage door cable can come off track. For the door to work well, there should be the right amount of tension between the springs and the cables. The balance is off, the cable with unwind. This may be due to the torsion spring breaking or the drum could be the wrong size for the spring. The cable can also be off track because the garage door hit an object on the way down.
If one of the garage door cables is off track, you may be able to realign or replace it quickly if you’re extremely careful. If you have an automatic door opener, disconnect the electricity from the garage door opener to prevent electrical accidents while you’re working on repairing the cable. Open the garage door all the way and use clamps on the tracks to keep the door open while you fix the cable.
Before you try to remove the broken cable, it’s important to release all the tension in the garage door torsion springs. The springs undergo stress each time the door closes or opens and hold tremendous tension. It’s unsafe to try to remove the cable without releasing the tension on the torsion springs, since this can cause the springs to recoil without warning and cause injury.
To ensure this process is completed safely, use the vise grip clamp to securely grip the shaft and turn the shaft to that you can loosen the cable. However, don’t grip the shaft too tightly, because if you over-loosen it, you’ll end up unwinding the cable on the opposite side of the garage door, which will result in more work for you. At this point, you can detach the old cable from the pin, which is located at the base of the garage door. Unwind the cable slowly and remove it from the drum.
If you feel uncomfortable with these tasks and would rather hire a professional handle garage repair for you, search online for a repair company near you. Take a look at customer reviews and check to see that the business is properly registered to select the right garage repair company for you.
