Slack cable, or one side has dropped
Broken or slack garage door cable
A cable that has snapped or come off its drum lets one side of the door drop, so it hangs crooked and goes out of square. It gets worse, and it usually ends with the door off the track entirely.
Call 214-733-2371Leave the bottom brackets alone
The bottom cable brackets on a torsion-spring door are under full spring load. People are seriously injured every year undoing those bolts at home. Stop using the door and call — this is a fast repair for someone with the right tools.
Likely causes
What’s probably wrong
- 1
Snapped or slipped cable
The lift cable on one side has broken or come off its drum, so that side stops rising while the other keeps going.
- 2
Drum out of adjustment
If one cable drum has slipped on the torsion tube, the two sides wind unevenly and the door racks.
- 3
Damaged roller or bracket
A failed bottom bracket lets one corner drop. These are under extreme tension and are a genuine injury risk to touch.
Start here
Not quite it?
These are the other five failures we get called out for most.
- Loud bang, now it won't openIt sounded like a gunshot in the garageWhat this means
- It came off the trackJammed in the opening, rollers out of the trackWhat this means
- It closes, then opens againIt goes down a foot and reverses back upWhat this means
- The cables are looseSlack cable, or one side has droppedWhat this means
- The opener hums but nothing movesMotor runs, door stays putWhat this means
- There's a gap along the bottomDaylight, water, or leaves getting inWhat this means
Not on the list? Call (214) 733-2371 and describe what it’s doing — we’ll tell you what we think before we come out.
Get started
Get help with a broken or slack garage door cable
Tell us what's happening and where, and we'll call you back. If the door is stuck or a car is trapped, phone us — that's always faster.
- Hours
- Open 24 hours, 7 days a week
- Shop
- 1912 University Business Dr Suite 403, McKinney, Texas 75071
- Response time
- Same-day service on most repair calls
Request service
Four quick questions. We’ll ask the rest when we call.