Cable snapped or door hanging crooked? Call now and tell us what the door is doing.
✆ Call 845-535-1141If a garage door cable has snapped or come off: stop using the door. The two lift cables carry the door's weight from the springs to the bottom corners. With one gone, the door is lifted from one side only, twists in its tracks and can jam or drop. Unplug the opener, keep people and cars clear, and call 845-535-1141.
Signs of a Cable Problem
- The door hangs crooked, with one bottom corner lower than the other.
- A cable is slack, tangled or lying loose beside the track or wrapped untidily on the drum above.
- Broken strands. A cable that looks hairy or has wires sticking out is close to failing.
- The door jams partway, often with rollers starting to leave the track on one side.
- Rust at the bottom few inches of the cable, where it meets the bottom bracket.
What the Cables Do
On a torsion-spring door, each cable runs from a bracket at the bottom corner of the door up to a grooved drum on the end of the spring bar. As the springs turn the bar, the drums wind the cables and the door rises level. On an extension-spring door, the cables run over pulleys instead. Either way the cables are always under load, and that is why they should not be handled.
Why Cables Fail
| Cause | What happens |
|---|---|
| Corrosion | Road salt and water collect at the floor and rust the bottom of the cable and its bracket. |
| Wear | Strands fray where the cable bends around the drum or pulley, one wire at a time. |
| A broken spring | When a spring lets go, the cables go slack and can jump off their drums. |
| Something in the door's path | If one side of the door stops and the other keeps moving, the cable on the stalled side unwinds. |
| Worn pulleys or drums | A seized pulley or a damaged drum groove cuts into the cable. |
| Misaligned tracks | The door binds, the load becomes uneven, and one cable carries more than its share. |
How Cable Repair Works
- Secure the door so it cannot move while the tension is dealt with.
- Release the spring tension safely. Cables cannot be changed with the springs loaded.
- Replace both cables. They wear together, and a new cable beside a stretched one lifts the door unevenly.
- Inspect drums, pulleys, bottom brackets and bearings, and replace anything that damaged the cable.
- Find the cause. If a spring or a binding track started it, that is repaired too.
- Reset tension, level the door and test it by hand and with the opener.
What You Can Safely Check
- Look, without touching, at the bottom of each cable for rust or broken strands.
- Watch the door close: does it come down level?
- Keep the floor at the door's corners clear of standing water and salt.
Do not try to rewind a cable onto its drum, and do not loosen the bottom brackets. They are held under spring tension even when the door looks slack.
Related Services and Guides
- Broken spring repair
- Off-track door and track repair
- Garage door repair
- Garage door off track? What to do and what not to do
- Garage door stuck open: what to do
Frequently Asked Questions
Where and When We Work
We are open Sunday to Thursday 7 AM to 11 PM, and Friday 7 AM to 1 PM (closed Saturday). In Rockland County that includes Monsey, Spring Valley, Suffern, New City, Nanuet and the surrounding communities, and we also serve Orange, Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties. Call 845-535-1141 to confirm availability for your address.