Paper discusess a dynamic engineering problem of a mass attached to a pendulum sliding along a cable. In this problem the pendulum mass and the cable are coupled together in a model described by a system of differential algebraic equations (DAE). In the paper we have presented formulation of the system of differential equations that models the problem and determination of the initial conditions. The developed model is general in a sense of free choice of support location, elastic cable properties, pendulum length and inclusion of braking forces. Examples illustrate and validate the model.