USE OF SELF-STARTER

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 94, 11 December 1931, Page 2

USE OF SELF-STARTER

AVOIDING TROUBLE A good many novices have considerable trouble with the car because they use the self-starter incorreetly. 'Many flywheel gears have teeth broken off and many starter-motor shafts are sprung by the drivers carelessly or mistakenly pushing the pedal or using the starter button when the engine is in motion. After a cranking operation has | failed to cause the engine to run there is usually a rocking against compression and a period in which the flywheel gear teeth are moving in the direction opposite to that; in which those of the starter pinion move. If the starter is used so that .the two gears come together in such cireumstances, the parts ara likely to be badly damaged. No matter in what haste the driver may be, he should defer any attempt at restarting nntil the engine is | fully at rest — a matter of a second or j so- . Movement of the starter control ' i should always be . positive and not • hesitating, so as to avoid any momen- ! tary cessation and immediate resumption of the meshing movement. Preventing a "Back-Kick." On spme cars it is necessary to retard the spark before starting the engine, so as to prevent the possibility of a "back-kick," which is likely to bend the pinion shaft . ! Operation of the starter when the engine is already running is something carefully to be avoided, as it brings the teeth of the two. gears into contact when they are moving at , widely different speeds, and may seri iously damage them and related parts. J With an engine which runs very j quietly or with any engine when ; there is much outside noise, the driver j may mistakenly conclude that his : engine has stalled, or he may forget that it has been started, and may perj form the starting operation, only to | be apprised of his* mistake by the noise of clashing from the starter drive. A touch on the accelerator to see if the engine speeds up, or a glance at the ammeter needle to see if it is vibrating will determine whether or not the engine is running. A variety of minor buk' necessary attentioi^s are required by a new car during its first 1,000 miles of service, such as readjustment of brakes I and carburretter, correction of valve clearances, and tightening of various parts which tend to become loose in . early service. A very definite underI starding" should be had that the dealer will look after these without expmse to the purchaser. ; The more nearly perfect a car is when delivered and the better understood are the future obligations of the seller to the buyer, the more satisf - ~tory to both parties the transaction is likely to be.