ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue CXXIII, 10 April 1937, Page 28

ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

VITAL IMPORTANCE

SHOULD RECEIVE ATTENTION

. The" electrical system.of amotpr-car or- commercial vehicle, .comprising .a dynamo or .generator to.'.generate current, ' a storage battery 'to store ' that' current,- an electric motor geared by Bendix' drive to: the flywheel to start the' engine, a coil connected : with a rotating distributor to provide current for ignition, and'the sparking plugs connected by high-tension- wires to the distributor head, .is- an. extremely vital and ■ necessary part :of the' vehicle (states, the "Sydney -Morning Herald"). According to: statistics produced both here and'overseas,.it is also.the.part of a car'most prone'to give trouble, being responsible lor. more roadside'hold-ups than any' other portion -of the; whole mechanism. '. ' ' ■'.•'.'■ :.- "' ■ '

In 'spite of. the ..statistics, •.. ;however, there1 is no real reason.why the " electrical ; system '■ should not: remain 100

per cent, reliable for several years, provided that, in.the 'meantime,.-.the owner devotes at .periodicj intervals, a reasonable-, amount .of .time \to "its- . upkeep. The heart, of'the : whole .system, is the battery, .a.unit'which- is:;'exposed ' to almost incredible neglect; in spite of its great importance. ■'■, The attention ■ it requires is slight, which makes.the mis-i use it receives'the'more.surprising.; .

Once a.fortnight,the cells must be examined ■ and refilled with .distilled water.if the, plate 'edges are.seen, to be exposed when; the strew' tops are removed. • Only., sufficient' water .should be'putin'toxoverVthe'plates. ;,;An air space between .the .water level'and the ceilings is necessary.': In'additiprvthe terminals'otHhe. battery'cables ;shduld be' .tested ■. for Hightriess/.arid: kept smeared with .vaseline: in' order to prevent corrosion.- .Lastly, the battery,-_■ at all ■ times': must- be'! held 'tightly/in its cradle,:as it'does not appreciate beingbumped about. on rough :_roads.' It is wise to:test'the clamps ' occasionally with a^spanrier.: 'Beyond, this simple care; .the.. battery: will require nothing. ■Should it' chronically'fail'to hold a charge,': it. • shoiild be .taken, to a< service station for exarnina'tion.;, ; It-is unreasonable to expect the average^ battery supplied.with- a-.car ..as; part .of ~ its brigirial/equipment, .to?.last for '.more ;than,> about'/,twb,!: years,\'.'and;, if,' after this -period,1 it evirices. a-.tendency;tp "go very ■quicklyiithe-chancesj are that it has -lived its' life" arid needs' replacing, which' .is ''■■ not.; a.very ■; expensive .matter tpday.;".;i.VV,,, ■■' _'':-,, v A :\.;.-; r'..^^'..'. ','■ '''• "',■,' ."' 'THE'':iGNlTipif.;V "" : -: ,;. should ;be ;^"ith. the-ignitjoh-systern;-'another part of the fear whichyscmost ;consistently neglecfed. '■•Thf boMt^afjbut'this is that in modern .cars'ifis; exposed; to much greater, st'rairirtrian'-was-'.tlie- case a-:few years'igo,\;th'-e higher','cpmpressioripf: the rear ■,of:<to'day.beirig'. ; . very hard: onoplu'g\gaps. arid ;'the : : points; of tKe-.taak^and-t3teakj;mechanism,';.-. For ■ this reason, a car should■'riot.;be;allow.ed ,'tof run ;rnore.Vthdri-,40p0; miles^/without ' ;the'; ignitibh'''.systSmvbeing '.examiried arid adjusted.;;. The".terrific heat lin' the combustion ■.chambers., burns /.away1: the ■ tolug points';yery' rapidly): as .ariy. motorist, will find'ili-after,his.carihas ; 'coyered 'about .4000:miles,'-he; take^.putthe.plugs forririspectio^." -^iddjgapsipiace:: a oriJthe'cbil.'.s'P.they:'should ' -be"reset to ttie':'gap-;:advised in^the^car instruction book by tapping the outside electrode towards the central one with a spanner.or pair of pliers. ,'. ■ .... ,'_ ~ It is unlikely, that the ..points of the make-and-break- mechanism will- sho.w deterioration quite so. soon ..as.1 tne plugs. •■' Nevertheless,. they should always be examined at the same time and, if blackened,';filed; clean again with a fine magneto file and also reset tb'th'e gap advised by.the makers... A set of feeler gauges,costs only, two or three .shillings, and is very valuable in setting sparking plug-and distributor points. . ... \ '...■.■•-,■ •'..',. At 10,000 miles, the sparking' plugs "Should be replaced..-, Many motorists say this is unnecessary, pointing, by way of proof to the satisfactory operation of their cars, which have gone many more miles than, this, With, the original plugs, "but it is almost certain that in such, cases engine performance has deteriorated so gradually as to pass unnoticed, and installation of new sparking-plugs has of ten, effected such an improvement-in general■ liveliness that owners have been amazed. At about this period in a cars.hie, ignition leaks in the high-tension wires can be' suspected. The wires should be examined closely .in search.of rotted portions-of s the rubber> insulation'.| Should this, be cracked at any point i or points, binding the, affected parts| with insulating tape is quite effective, although complete replacement of the wires is by/far the best thing. . STARTING AND LIGHTING. It is not considered advisable for the owner to tamper -with'-the.-remaining1 ■ parts of the electrical system,--the, gen-j ! erator andthe starting ..motor, too' much, 'although there', is ho harm ;in examining the. carbon brushes and commutator at the.'end -of i the.generator I should the ammeter,needle stay,on: the I zero mark, indicating a-complete fail-1 ure of the dynamo, as" sometimes ; th'e 'trouble is ■ caused- "by", ■ one; of. ;the brushes sticking in.;' its ; spring-loaded socket.and failing to make contact;with the commutator., ■If this has occurred,

pushing the brush back on to the commutator will effect an immediate cure. But if the trouble is due to a dirty commutator or any other cause, the work is best left to those experts who are fully equipped, to deal with electricar troubles.

Every . motor-car .owner, however, should make himself familiar, with the position of the fuses which are interposed in the wiring circuit as a protection in case of a bad short-circuit, and if the car is- not delivered with spares,' should provide himself with a box of five spare fuses of -the right amperage. Sornetimes-fuses burn out apparently for no other reason" . than old age, and whenever one goes the effect of a new one should, he tried before suspecting sei'ious trouble. If the: new one burns" out immediately it is installed, however, there is manifestly something wrong,; and an- immediate examination of the wiring should be undertaken. Sometimes the motorist can find the short circuit himself, perhaps caused by abraided insulation baring; a wire, and in such a case, a roll of insulating tape is invaluable. ,

Other spares which should always be. CarriedI.are at least one headlamp bulb and one tail light bulb. ' ,• ' ;