Garage door wire keeps coming off pulley

[hrusis]

Garage door noob here and sorry if this has been answered before.

A few days back I noticed my garage door wires coming off the pulley. I detached the wires and wound them up properly but as soon as I was done, the rod just moved and the wires came loose again.

I tried locking the rod with pliers while I wound the cables but as soon as I remove the pliers, I'm back to scratch.

What am I missing?

Attaching some screenshots. The garage door is a Wayne Dalton (yes I know they are ****** doors but they came with the house).

 

[gnpenning]

First the proper term is cables and spring shaft. When the door is down the cables should be under spring tension, if not you may have a spring or winding assembly issue.

More information is needed to try and help you.

What position is the door in when the cables come off.

What position is the door in when you reattach the cables?

How are you winding the springs and what happens as you are doing it?

What is the cable tension like when you finish.

I'm not a fan of WD products and don't sell them. Neither do my competitors so it's rare that I ever seen them. Maybe one of the other door guys will chime in if needed.

 

[Muckin_Slusher]

Yer both cables are not at the same tension (most likely). One's tight and the other's loose and falls off..

Wrap her back up and make sure you got the same tension on both sides.

Set screw might've loosed up.

 

[hrusis]

The right side cable had come off completely when I noticed it. Left was still attached to the door. Door goes up and down (it's not smooth but works) with the opener so it's hard to tell now what position were they in when it happened.

I had the door open all the way when I tried winding the cables. I did the right side first and it had some tension. Then I attempted the left side and as I was pulling the cable to attach to the door, the shaft turned and the right side became loose again.

I guess holding the shaft in place with pliers attached, like in this image, will help?

In other words, maybe it's just a matter of getting both sides done without letting the shaft move (so the cable doesn't get loose and uncoil)?

If I rotate the shaft, it rotates somewhat freely (without the cables/spring attached to the doors of course). There is some tension/resistance but it doesn't require much force to rotate it by hand. Is this normal?

 

[hrusis]

Just saw this

and looks like I may have a broken spring. Although the door opens and closes without the cables, so I'm little puzzled by this.

 

[1500hd]

????? Which type of spring system do you have? WD or conventional torsional type. Pics don’t match.

 

[hrusis]

????? Which type of spring system do you have? WD or conventional torsional type. Pics don’t match.

That's a stock photo I found on google. The pics in the OP is the real one.

 

[Fixin'Stuff]

With both cables wound, disconnect the garage door opener from the door (With the door in the DOWN position!), then try to lift the door. If you can't easily lift the door with one hand, then you have a broken spring or slipped set screw. When everything is working as it should, the door should feel nearly weightless and you should be able to release it anywhere in its travel and it stays right there.

 

[BillK]

This web site has a ton of good information and diy videos. Check it out:

https://ddmgaragedoors.com/springs/garage-door-springs.php

 

[Hot Rod Grampa]

Your system has the torsion springs inside the tube. It seems one is broken, which is why the one side will not stay tensioned. Either you find a Wayne dalton dealer to get a new spring(or both would be recommended) or you must change your system to conventional torsion spring on the outside of the tube. The size and weight of the door will be required to get the correct springs. That is not a place you want to guess.

 

[hrusis]

With both cables wound, disconnect the garage door opener from the door (With the door in the DOWN position!), then try to lift the door. If you can't easily lift the door with one hand, then you have a broken spring or slipped set screw. When everything is working as it should, the door should feel nearly weightless and you should be able to release it anywhere in its travel and it stays right there.

So I wound up the cables and attached them to the door. But after lowering the door back, the cables look like these

So I can’t really try your method.

 

[hrusis]

Your system has the torsion springs inside the tube. It seems one is broken, which is why the one side will not stay tensioned. Either you find a Wayne dalton dealer to get a new spring(or both would be recommended) or you must change your system to conventional torsion spring on the outside of the tube. The size and weight of the door will be required to get the correct springs. That is not a place you want to guess.

Based on their video, this one should have only one spring on the right side. But yeah, if it’s broken then I guess cables are not the issue.

 

[hrusis]

This web site has a ton of good information and diy videos. Check it out:

https://ddmgaragedoors.com/springs/garage-door-springs.php

I’ll check it out, thanks!

 

[GreyOwl]

So I wound up the cables and attached them to the door. But after lowering the door back, the cables look like these

So I can’t really try your method.

ANY work done on the cables needs to be done with the door in the closed position, not open. Your description doesn't say whether this is the way you did it or not.

 

[siegsuwa]

I've had this issue where the cables would unwind if the door was lifted too high to the point where the spring was no longer providing tension at the top. For a stop-gap I adjusted the door tension and was careful to not lift it too high. In your first picture you can see where the door is lifted so high that the cables are at a very oblique angle to the door opening.

To fix my door I ended up spending a Saturday to change out the bearings, rollers, cables and realigned all of the tracks to get everything just right. It was time consuming but well worth it for a frustration free garage door.

If you have a broken spring in a funky arrangement it may be worth converting to a more standardized arrangement. I have an ideal door from Menards and it's not my favorite but it works well when it's adjusted right. It's nice having the screw-type spring tensioner mount that can be turned with a socket instead of the spring end clamp and bars.

 

[hrusis]

ANY work done on the cables needs to be done with the door in the closed position, not open. Your description doesn't say whether this is the way you did it or not.

With the door closed, I cannot attach/detach the cable from the door. It's unreachable with the tracks and door frame in the way.

Although now I know better to leave the door closed, I didn't know it then. If you see my OP, my first attempt was with door open all the way. I have learnt since then and I now know that wouldn't work anyway since the cables are long enough to wind halfway through the drum even with door fully closed.

 

[gnpenning]

Now that you have realized what you are doing doesn't work, go back and and answer the questions in post 2. Some you just did, but finish.

Make sure the cables don't have any kinks or broken wires.
There are a couple ways you can attach the cables with the door down. Another way is undo the cables with the door up and NO tension on the springs, totally remove the cables. Attach the cables to the bottom plates. With help carefully lower the door making sure the cables don't catch on anything and are straight. Or you can wait until the door is down and myself or someone else can help you.

If you have a broken spring or other issues you need the cables attached and ready to hook up to the drums.

I would recommend you don't waste a dime on your current spring assembly but upgrade to a torsion spring unless you like doing this on occasion.