The garage door cables are the only connection between the torsion system and springs and the door. If one or both of your cables come off the drum or break, the garage door will have problems opening and closing and may even come off the tracks.

What Should You Do If Your Garage Door Cables Come Off or Break?

If your cable got loose or broke when your garage door is in the closed position, you may want to avoid opening the door until the issue is fixed, as you risk damaging your garage door. If your garage door is halfway open or in the open position with a loose or broken cable, do not force it closed, as the door will likely come off the tracks and bend the tracks. Continue reading below to learn how to repair a garage door with a loose or broken cable.

Repair or Replace Your Garage Door Cables

If your garage door won’t close because the cable came off the pulley, you’ll have to put it back in place or replace it if it’s completely broken. Either way, the process is identical.

If your garage door is halfway open and falling off the tracks due to the cable, the first thing you want to do is put the door back on the tracks. Do not try to force the door closed. Instead, slowly lift the side of the door with the loose or broken cable. Since this side is not supported by the torsion system and torsion springs, you’ll need to pull it up just enough to align it with the other side. Once the door is aligned, clamp vise grips on the door’s track to secure the door in place. The vise grips should be clamped on the side with the loose or broken cable, right under one of the rollers.

If the rollers are off the hinges, slide them back onto the hinge’s shaft and slightly bend the track with vise grips or a claw hammer to make enough space for the roller’s wheel to slide back into the track. Do this for all the rollers that fell off the hinges. You can hammer the track back in place later on.

Once this is done, use the garage door pull to release the door from the opener. Remove the vise grips previously used to secure the door in place, then slowly and evenly lift the garage door up, ensuring that the side with the loose or broken cable doesn’t fall behind while you’re lifting.

Lift the door all the way up, ensuring that you have enough space to access the lift cable drum, either from the bottom or side. Once there’s enough space, make sure that both sides of the garage door are at the same height and secure the door in place again by using vise grips.

If the door is attached to a garage door opener and there’s not enough space to access the drum from the bottom, you can release the J-bar that connects the door to the opener. This will enable you to pull the door further up. Be careful not to pull it too high so that the top rollers won’t come off the horizontal tracks.

There are two ways to put the door cable back on the pulley or replace it. The first way is to completely remove the cable from the pulley and bottom bracket. Once it’s off, insert the cable tip into the drum’s slot, and start wrapping it onto the drum with one hand. Use your other hand to ensure the cable is secured in the drum’s groove. If the cable isn’t positioned properly inside the drum’s groove, the repair won’t work. Leave just enough cable so that the cable loop can reach the bottom bracket lip, and attach the cable loop to the bottom bracket’s lip. You may need to use a flathead screwdriver to force it in.

The second way is to mark the position of the drum on the torsion tube and use a 7/16 inch (11mm) 12-point wrench to release the drum’s locking bolts. Once the drum is loose, insert the cable’s tip into the drum’s slot and start rotating the drum, ensuring the cable is properly wrapped in the drum’s groove. Again, if the cable isn’t positioned properly inside the drum’s groove, the repair won’t work. Once you reach the end of the cable, use the markings and a 7/16 inch (11mm) 12-point wrench to secure the drum back to the torsion tube.

Once the misplaced cable is in place or the broken cable has been replaced, remove the vise grips that is securing the door. Slowly push the garage door down manually and test it couple of time, ensuring that it’s aligned, properly balanced, and that there are no gaps. If there are gaps once the repair is complete, fix the misalignment by resetting the torsion system and springs tension.

What Can Cause Garage Door Cables to Come Loose or Break?

There are several reasons that can cause garage door cables to fail:

• Objects caught in the garage door’s path while it’s closing or opening may cause one or both cables to jump off the pulley and become loose.
• Broken or weak torsion springs, and springs without enough travel distance.
• Rust and corrosion may cause cables to break.
• Misalignment of the torsion assembly can cause improper integration between the cable and the lift cable drum, leading to fraying and breakage.
• Worn or buckled door sections may cause the cable to jump off the drum.
• Worn bearings and rollers may cause the cable to jump off the drum.
• Heavy loads may cause the cables to fray and break over time. This is more common in custom wood and heavy-duty garage doors.

Steps to Avoid Garage Door Cable Breakage

Periodically inspect your garage door cables, ensuring they aren’t fraying, rusted, or corroded. Make sure the garage is properly weather-sealed to better prevent water, humidity, dust, and salty air from entering. Ensure the garage door is properly aligned, balanced, and that the torsion springs are in good working order. Clear any items that could potentially get caught in the door’s path and store them away from the garage door. Replace worn and rusted garage door cables promptly. You don’t need to lubricate the cables themselves. Instead, you can apply lubricant to the bottom bracket lip area to facilitate smoother rotation of the cable loop.

If you’re unsure about the condition of your door cables or how to approach repairing or replacing them, contact and consult a licensed garage door repair company in your area. Do not attempt repairs without the proper tools or knowledge, as the cables are under tension from the springs.