Garage Door Cable Repair: 6 Warning Signs

Frayed strands, slack on the drum, a crooked door—what to look for before a cable snaps in your Chattanooga garage.

Cables fail before they snap Most cable failures show warning signs days or weeks before the cable actually breaks. Catching them early means a $175 cable swap instead of a $400 emergency call after the door drops.

The 6 warning signs 1. **Visible fraying** at the bottom bracket where moisture pools 2. **Slack on the drum** — the cable looks loose at the top 3. **One side of the door hangs lower** than the other 4. **Loud "twang"** when the door starts moving 5. **Cable wrapped wrong** on the drum after a recent off-track event 6. **Rust streaks** running down the cable from the top drum

Why Tennessee homes see this more Chattanooga humidity sneaks moisture into stranded cable, and rust starts inside where you can't see it until strands break free. Galvanized cables triple the lifespan in our climate.

Don't try to release tension yourself Cables work with the springs—touching one without releasing spring tension is dangerous. Call 423-583-9355 and we'll handle it.