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» Garage Door Cable Repair
Garage Door Cable Repair
A sectional garage door is dependent on being pulled up by the cables that sit on either side of the door. Sometimes, due to many reasons, the cables can stop doing their job. If the cables snap or come off of the cable drum that winds them up, your garage door will not work. If this is the case, you will need to contact us for a garage door cable repair!
So, what do you need to do?
The first thing is to stop using your garage door. If you have a remote control for the garage door, put it down! In an emergency, you can manually open the door until we can role up for the repair (be sure to lift from the middle), but we would prefer you do not use the door at all, as even manual use can cause further issues that can lead to additional costs.
- Remove power to your garage opener completely. This means you need to find where the garage door motor cable is connected to your garage wall or ceiling. We find this is the only way to stop someone from accidentally using the garage door as pressing the remote control has often become automatic to getting into the car.
- Call us and explain the problem. We will then diagnose over the phone the exact problem and work out an exact price to repair your garage door.
Why does a garage door cable need replacing?
If a garage door cable is misaligned, faulty, broken or heavily worn, or tangled, there are dangers to ignoring replacement or repair! Continuing to operate the garage door at this stage can lead to further damage of hinges, rollers or panels by placing undue stress on other parts. We have seen situations where the rollers have come out of the tracks, and there is a chance the entire garage door can fall down over the vehicles!
A garage door is suspended by the cables and is one of the most important parts of the garage door system, without them the garage door will simply not open and close. The garage door cables are connected to the torsion bar via the cable disc which is held tight by the torsion springs. The garage door cables and springs are essentially counterbalanced against each other. If a cable is misaligned on the disc this will make the cable shorter at that end lifting the door up and add additional stress to the cable which in turn can snap or cause damage.
How to tell if your Garage door cables are broken!
Garage door cables are hard to see at the best of times and it will involve a little bit of poking and prodding to check if they are still working. If you look to the extreme left or the extreme right of the garage door, running paralel along the garage door track that houses the rollers, the cables should be taught and running vertically up and near the track. The bottom of the cable should be connected to the bottom of the garage door panel in the “Pick-up Bracket” (refer to images of different pickup brackets below) The top of the cable should be running up to the circular disk (Cable Drum)
If the bottom of the garage door is flat on the ground and the cable is tight we can presume that this cable is ok.
Check the other side of the garage door, if this cable is loose, tangled around the torsion pole or broken it should be fairly clear that the cable is not doing its job and will need to be repaired.
How long will it take to replace the cable on my garage door?
Garage door cable repair typically takes about 30 to 60 minutes to replace or repair both cables.
Are there different grades of garage door cables?
Like all products and spare parts, there are varying different qualities of garage door cables. Cables can come in different breaking strains, different thicknesses and are available in zinc or stainless steel. Cables will vary from manufacturer.
PRO-TIP – If you need a garage door cable repair and you want a premium cable please insist on stainless steel. This type of cable is resistant to rust and is very popular for people who like to keep their garage clean and neat and in optimal working order!
How do we repair garage door cables?
To repair garage door cables you need to be conscious that there is a huge amount of tension in the springs. Please be aware this can result in serious injury. Each year we hear of on-site injuries where an untrained person trying to repair the cables on their garage door has suffered an injury. For this reason, we do not recommend it.
For the small price, it costs to have our professional team complete the tasks in under an hour, in our opinion it is simply not worth doing yourself.
Our technicians are fully trained and carry all the correct tools to safely repair or replace your garage door cables.
Steps to repairing or replacing your garage door cables-
- lift the door manually Into the up position
- Add a vice grip tool to torsion tube to hold the tension from the spring
- Add a vice grip to the tracks to the bottom section of the garage door panel (This will stop the door from rolling down the tracks)
- Check the door and torsion pole is held tightly by the vice grips
- Loosen the cable drum ( this is the disc that winds the cables). There is typically two bolts marked with red.
- Now the cable drum is loose you can either wind the existing cable back onto the disc, or add a new cable to the disc – Be sure that the cable is winding from the outside to the inside and that it is not crossing the guides impregnated into the disc.
- To remove and replace the cable to the bottom of the garage door you will need a screwdriver to wedge the loop off the cleat/pickup bracket.
- Check the door is sitting flat to the ground, wind the cable drum up tightly with one hand while tightening the cable drum bolts back onto the torsion pole. Be sure not to over tighten the bolts as they may create divots to the torsion pole and could make future repairs more difficult.
- Once this work is completed our technician will then do a full service on the motor, control arm, hinges, rollers and spring. (25 point Service)
How much will it cost to replace the cable on my garage door?
There are two types of garage door cable repairs.
The first one is where the cables have simply come off the tracks and involves the cables being put back onto the cable drum. This is a basic repair and does not require any additional spare parts and hence is very economical on price. Commonly termed a “Cable Reattachment”. The price range to do a basic repair on the cable will range from $165 to $320 depending on the garage door company you end up using plus the brand of garage door you have. Some manufacturers/brands are easier or more difficult than others.
Some companies (like ourselves) offer a comprehensive service to the garage door and motor plus extended warranty on new parts installed.
The second type of cable repair is “Cable Installation”.
If you have snapped a cable, it is strongly recommended that both are replaced with two brand new cables. Because both cables have to be removed, the tension from the torsion spring needs to be contained and locked before any work can begin plus there are other safety precautions we need to take as we are dealing with a lot of force that opens the garage door. Due to the spare parts (Cables with special end hoops) plus the additional labour time the price will cost more. New cable replacement within the garage door industry typically hovers around $230 to $420 depending on the quality of the cable, the garage door brand you have and the company offering the service.
What causes a garage door cable to malfunction or come off?
Understanding what causes a garage door cable to malfunction will help you maintain a better running garage door for the future.
They are listed below –
Stretching – unfortunately, like all moving parts, some things will wear out or can be stretched. The garage cable can stretch over time, this could be caused by additional stress or weight that the cables are lifting or from cheap cables.
Fraying – Garage door cables particularly if they are over 8 years of age can start to fray from continual use. If you see the cable splitting we would recommend not trying to repair it or operate the garage door as it could snap at any time!
Rust – if you live near the coast or saltwater some brands of garage door cables will rust quite quickly. You can reduce the rust by putting a light layer of protectant on them, but due to the wear rust is typically inevitable if you are situated in a coastal area. Our company offers stainless steel cables as an option to ensure better longevity.
Manually Lifting the Door – This might sound odd but simply lifting the garage door manually (without the motor connected via the cable release cord) can dislodge the cable from the cable drum. This is done by lifting the garage door too high. At this point, the cable becomes loose on the drum and may come off not dissimilar to a fishing line on a fishing reel becoming loose.
Stuck or strike – If the garage door is stuck for some reason as the motor turns on this puts additional force through the cable to allow it to snap above its breaking strain. If the garage door closes on top of something such as a child’s bike left in the way, it can twist and bend as at angle and loosen the cable to that side. Once the cable becomes loose, it can fall off the cable drum that rolls the cable up.
How do I fix the wires on my garage door?
If you are a keen DIY home handyman you can purchase garage door cables direct from our company and give it a go. Although we don’t recommend it. Below is a video that we endorse that has taken all the correct safety procedures and steps to change the cables on a garage door.
What happens when garage door cable breaks?
When a cable breaks you will hear a loud snapping or smashing sound. The side of the cable break will drop the door height off the ground. Typically the garage door motor will stop and the garage door will be hanging unevenly. If you continue to use the garage door, the good cable will be lifted up causing more potential further damage. An uneven opening is a very dangerous situation and we advise not to use the garage door until we arrive. Refer to our “So what do you need to do?” advice.
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