My garage door is about 5 years old. Although it closes all the way, I noticed that one side is about 1-2 inches off the ground when it does. There are two springs mounted above the inside of the door and they appear to be intact. The door opens and closes like normal and appears level when it is half-way down. I looked at the cable drums on either side of the spring bar and it looks like one is un-wound about 2 inches more than the other one when the door is all they way down. I see two nuts on this wheel, and it looks like if I loosen it, I can let out about 2” of slack when the door is down to make it even again.

Is this a correct assumption? I’ve heard that adjusting garage doors can be very dangerous, especially when adjusting the actual garage door springs.

Thanks,

Steve in Brandon

Answer:

You are correct in that the problem is with your cable drums. Your torsion spring shaft is most likely not keyed, so over time cable drums to slip on hollow shafts, causing the door to move out of alignment.

You are also correct that this adjustment is potentially very dangerous. You are incorrect in trying to let out the slack on the other cable drum to “match the slack” in the other drum. You must draw up the slack in the affected cable drum to rebalance the door.

Before you can rebalance the door by adjusting the cable drums, you must take out the tension or “backwind” both garage door springs. The torsion springs are under EXTREME TENSION and it is highly recommended that even the most adept “do-it-your-selfer” call a licensed garage door repair company to make this adjustment. The repair should not cost much more than $100, unless you have lived with this problem to long and damage has occurred in other areas of your garage door system.

Warning to all consumers:
If a garage door company inspects your issue and they are claiming it will cost several hundred dollars to repair, it is recommended to get a secondary estimate from a locally owned and operated company. Many garage door repair companies that operate under a franchise have minimum quotas they must reach on every job that far surpass a minimal service charge.

- Certified Garage Door, Inc

Tags: Broken Cable, Broken Garage Door Spring, DIY Garage Door Repair, Garage Door Cable, Garage Door Cable Drum, Garage Door Service, Garage Door Torsion Spring, Garage Doors
Posted in Symptoms and Problems

Yes. Even a small kink or fray in your garage door cables will weaken the system and should be replaced. If the amount of fray is significant, where there are only a few remaining strands of cable, your garage door cable could break at any moment. You should contact a qualified garage door service technician as soon as possible to have your garage door cable replaced.

Tags: Broken Cable, Broken Garage Door Spring, Garage Door Cable, Garage Door Cable Drum, Garage Door Service, Garage Door Torsion Spring, Garage Doors
Posted in Symptoms and Problems

What is wrong with my garage door?.

Most likely one of the garage door cables has come off of the cable drum. Be careful, the garage door cables may still be under the spring’s tension. The garage door cable(s) should not be touched without the proper knowledge and tools to make the repair. Be careful not to force the garage door closed or open, it may cause further damage to the garage door tracks and may also cause the garage door to fall to the floor. In most cases you are better off to leave the broken garage door in whatever position you found it until a licensed garage door service technician can properly repair it.

Tags: Broken Cable, Broken Garage Door Spring, Garage Door Cable, Garage Door Cable Drum, Garage Door Service, Garage Door Torsion Spring, Garage Doors
Posted in Symptoms and Problems

How can we get the door opener to start working properly again?

It sounds like the photo cell’s safety beam is either blocked or out of alignment. Move any objects that may be interfering with the signal and verify that the photo-cell’s LED lights are illuminated. If the infrared beams are not blocked and the photo-cells appear that they are aligned, then contact your local garage door service technician to diagnose and repair the problem. You will not be able to close the door with the remote control transmitter until the photo-cells are working properly.

Tags: Broken Garage Door Opener, DIY Garage Door Repair, Garage Door Opener Repair, Garage Door Opener Safety Beam, Garage Door Opener Service, Garage Door Openers, Garage Door Safety Beam, Garage Door Service, Infrared Safety Beam
Posted in Symptoms and Problems

Can I fix easily or should I call a garage door service professional?

Most likely the problem is in the garage door opener receiver. It is also possible that the problem could be inside the operator itself and that it is no longer sending power to the receiver unit. You should call a garage door repair professional to determine & fix the problem.

Tags: Broken Garage Door Opener, Garage Door Opener Repair, Garage Door Opener Service, Garage Door Openers, Garage Door Remote, Garage Door Transmitter
Posted in Symptoms and Problems