A broken garage door cable may be to blame if you’re having difficulties getting your garage door to open or close properly. The issue of improper cable installation frequently results in the garage door wires being unbalanced, overly short, or both. Here’s how to remedy the issue if cables needing modification are to blame for your garage door problems.
By modifying the length of the wire passing through the cable bracket, you may adjust your garage door cables so that they offer the right amount of strain on both sides of the garage door. The cable bracket is located where the cable fastens to the track.
Common Causes of Loose Garage Door Cables
It’s a good idea to understand how the cable became loose in the first place before adjusting the garage door wires. First and foremost, you want to keep from running into the same issue again. Second, the necessary procedure depends on the origin of the issue.
If the door has been harmed or the hardware is broken or worn out, garage door cables may need to be adjusted. If the track has become deformed or the garage door system was installed incorrectly, adjustments can also be required. An uneven installation is an illustration of a poor installation. Another frequent reason for loose garage door cables is configuration problems.
When an Object is Struck by a Closing Garage Door
When the garage door closes on something, one of the quickest ways for a garage door cable to come loose is when it does so. The wires can break loose when the garage door closes unevenly due to a car, a toy, a lawnmower, or any other impediment.
1. A faulty door
The complete garage door system, including cable tension, benefits surprisingly from the stability and structural integrity provided by garage doors. Despite the thinness of the garage door components, they are supported by struts that are attached to the door’s bottom (the bottom section)—the likelihood of the garage door frame bending increases when one or more of the components are damaged.
2. Bowed Track
A bent track is another frequent cause of garage door adjustment needs. It is quite simple for the wires to become either too tight or too loose when they are forced to move in ways they were not intended to. If the issue is a bent track, no amount of cable adjustment will address it (safely) until the track has been fixed.
3. Defective Hardware
The complexity of garage doors is startling. To ensure seamless operation, several components must function effectively with one another. The wires might need to be adjusted if one of these components malfunctions. The parts you should inspect include brackets and drums, roller wheels, set screws, and torsion springs, to name just a few.
Adjusting Your Garage Door Cables
It is now time to adjust the tension on your garage door wires after you have finished troubleshooting. Fortunately, doing so is actually pretty easy to do.
First step: Put safety first!
Disconnecting the garage door opener will allow you to manually open the door as soon as possible. Large springs support garage doors, but once the cables have been taken out of the bottom section, the springs frequently aren’t strong enough to keep the garage door open.
You must secure the door after disengaging the garage door opener and opening it. For this, use two vice grips. One set of vice grips can be placed on each track, directly below the garage door’s bottom part, to keep it in place.
When you’re trying to adjust, the last thing you want to happen is for the door to slam shut on you. The door will remain in place while you work thanks to these vice grips. To avoid any electrical mishaps, you should also turn off the electricity if your garage door is automatic.
Second step: Take the Cable out of the Bracket.
Checking the bracket on the track should be your next action. Cables for garage doors are attached to the bottom of the garage door on one end and the bracket on the other. It is possible to change the tension of the cable itself by adjusting the end of the cable that is attached to the bracket. A hook that fastens to the bracket is used to connect the garage door cable. As a result, disconnecting the cable is an easy task.
Third Step (a): Reattach the Cable Hook to the Bracket
A bracket with numerous entrance points for a garage door cable is seen on many garage door tracks. This indicates that by reattaching the cable to an entrance point farther from the original, you might be able to change the strain on your garage door wire. Simply locate an entry point that leaves the garage door cable with the least amount of slack when this choice is an option.
Third step (b): Modify the cable bracket
A bracket that can be adjusted is located at the end of the garage door cable that connects to the track. The next step is to modify the tension using the bracket if you are unable to achieve the desired tension using the alternative bracket holes as indicated in the previous step.
To accomplish this, turn the bracket’s screws loose enough to allow the cable to pass through. Once it is free, pass the cable through the bracket until the desired tension is reached. Reinstall the cable bracket to the garage door track after tightening the screws. On both sides of the garage door, make sure to exert the same amount of stress. The door won’t open or close evenly if this doesn’t happen.
Fourth Step: Check Your Work
Check to make sure all cables are perfectly oriented and that neither side has become unraveled after you’ve done all the necessary changes. If everything appears to be in order, take the vice grips off and manually lower your garage door. After that, restart the opener so you can test the door.
You may rejoin the door to the track by pulling the cable that hangs from the opener, which will engage the lever. The track may also be re-engaged by simply pressing the button on your remote control.
To check for functionality, shut the garage door all the way. If the wires were appropriately adjusted, the door’s edge should be flush with the ground and have no gaps at the bottom. Check the cables’ functionality by opening and closing the door a few times.
Our specialists are experienced in adjusting garage door cable tension for many years. And we are providing quality service in Temecula, CA and surrounding are. Feel free to call us any time about your garage door problem
Related Issues
Why do garage door wires sag?
The cables on garage doors can come off for a few different reasons. First of all, it’s crucial to remember that when utilized under typical circumstances, garage door wires keep their proper tension. As a result, garage door cables can break free almost anytime there is an inappropriate use of or damage to the drums, tracks, or garage door.
Some of the most frequent causes of loose garage door cables are the garage door slamming into something, loose set screws, damaged roller wheels, twisted garage door parts, using too much power to manually open or close the garage door, and broken extension springs, and many more. These are helpful areas to start when troubleshooting even if they are only a handful of the numerous choices.
How can broken garage door cable drums be repaired?
The procedure needed to adjust the garage door wires will change depending on the cause of the problem. You first need to secure the door on the tracks if the cables have come off the drums, which is one of the most frequent problems. Vice grips can be helpful here.
Detach the end of the cable from the garage door’s bottom fixture after locking the door. Rewind the cable around the drum after unraveling it. Reinstall the cable to the garage door and finish.
Summary
You can now reengage the garage door opener after setting the garage door cable tension and reconnecting the wires. The garage door opener’s switch is typically used for this. After that, the tension will be checked while the vice grips are removed. Your task is complete if the garage door opens easily and the cable is taut.
It is possible that the tension between the two cables is out of balance if the garage door is uneven or if the door catches on the track at any point. One side or the other can be adjusted to correct this. Remember the safety warnings from Step One – Safety First – before altering, though!
