How to Fix Garage Door Cable? You probably don’t give your garage door much thought, despite the fact that it is the single largest moving part of your house and may take up more than 40% of the front-facing portion of your home. You choose a colour, a panel system, and window positioning even during the design stage of a new garage door.
How to Fix Garage Door Cable?
Once everything is in place, you expect the garage to go up and down as needed. Pulling the car in, driving it out, or leaving the door open to do some Spring cleaning. When something goes wrong with the door, moving it becomes considerably more difficult.
Garage Door System Components
Today’s garage doors can weigh up to 400 pounds! That is why it is so difficult to move when something is wrong. As a result, a garage door system is more than just the door and the tracks it runs on. The system is completed by extension springs, huge torsion springs, cable drums, as well as garage door cables.
If any of these components malfunctions or stops working properly, the door may not move… or may come crashing down! In either case, the door will be out of service until that part is repaired or replaced. Some repairs are simple, while others will necessitate the services of an experienced specialist.
Each component has a specific function. The tracks keep the door aligned, the springs assist in lifting the door’s weight, and the garage door opener lifts the entire thing with the push of a button. In the event that the springs fail, the garage door cables as well as cable drums serve as a backup.
The Function of Garage Door Cable
These cables, which are installed on both sides of the door, work with both torsion and extension springs to help move the door up and down smoothly. If one cable fails, it puts more strain on the other, eventually causing it to fail as well.
The cables are connected to the garage door’s bottom and a cable drum at either end of the torsion spring shaft. The door rises or closes when the torsion spring twists the drums and the cables wrap or unravel around the drum. When the doors are lowered, the spring wraps up and unwinds, assisting in the movement of the door’s weight.
As previously stated, if one of these cables fails, the door will not lift evenly, putting strain on the other cable, tracks, as well as rollers of the garage door. And, despite the fact that the torsion spring is under a lot of tension and the garage door is quite heavy, replacing a cable is a relatively safe and simple task.
Changing the Cable
Place the door in the open position and lock it before removing the broken cable. Attach vice grips to the track just below the bottom roller or position a ladder/scaffolding beneath the door to prevent it from moving.
Once the door is securely fastened, you can remove the cable from the bottom of the garage door (which is looped around a peg) and the drum (unravel the cable). Attach the new cable to the drum as directed by the manufacturer, ravel the cable, and wrap the other end over the peg at the bottom of the door.
Because the new and old wires may not be exactly the same length, replace both cables to guarantee equal lengths. You can also change the length of either cable, however, this requires you to interact with the torsion spring. Unless you have previous expertise using these springs.
