Q: How do i fix a garage door cable?

A: (Cables attach at the bottom brackets on the bottom corners of door and run up or up and back to the springs) One of the cable end has a loop that attaches at the bottom of the door on left and right hand side of door. And the other end usually has a small round or square piece of metal that locks into the cable drums. (cable drums are in the upper right and left hand corners attached to the same pole as springs and cable winds up on them as door opens.)

A few different factors cause a cable to break. Age and rust will cause a cable to snap. Also a cable is made up of a bunch of small cables twisted together to make a thicker stronger cable, just like any rope. And just like any rope the smaller strands of cable will break one by one and frey cable until it just snaps.

Anytime you have a broken cable the door will not function properly at all and will cause further damage. You must get a technician to replace cables asap before door is used in any way. Ask technician to make sure new cable is as thick or thicker than the one that broke.

I have found that more than half of the time when there is a cable problem, its just a broken spring and the cable just pops out because the spring doesn’t have any tension anymore to keep it in place. This is very common with doors that use only one torsion spring. (Torsion springs are tubular and attached to torsion pole that runs along entire door and located above door opening or at the back of the door next to the opener if you have one.)

When cables are broken or disconnected you should never try to open door in any way. You will cause more damage and spend more money to correct.