WHEN IT FAILS,

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 136, 30 August 1927, Page 6

WHEN IT FAILS,

THE NECESSARY STARTER. WHERE THE TROUBLE MAY BE. The car has to be cranked for starting; the lights burn out mysteriously; and the ammeter doesn’t appear to be working. Something’s gone wrong obviously in the ignition system. But the battery registers full charge, and the engine runs smoothly once it’s started, so there’s nothing wrong with the distributor nor with the generator. The fault must lie somewhere between the generator and battery-. In fact it does. A sure sign is the rapid extinction of good headlight or other bulbs. This shows a closed circuit between the generator and the lights, but one that takes all the current from this part of the system instead of only part of it. Ordinarily the generator supplies power to the battery while the engine is running, keeping the source of the ignition system fully charged. But w'hen the starter refuses to budge, and the lights seems to take all the generator’s juice by burning out so quickly, there is a sure sign of a broken circuit betw'een the generator and battery. There needn’t he a loose wire in this part of the system. It may be a broken terminal on the battery, or one so covered w r ith corrosion that the current can’t get past. The battery on the generator also may be covered with oil or grease as to be rendered useless. If any of these troubles are found they must be put right. In the case of a battery terminal being corroded, it should be well washed with water, then a solution of common soda, and finally with water again, until all the corrosion is cleaned off. The terminal should be disconnected, and both the wire and battery connections washed and scraped clean. A cracked or broken battery terminal may be discovered by jerking it backward and forward. It might be tight. If loose, the battery needs repair. A cracked or broken terminal is caused by careless disconnection of the hattery wires. Sometimes an irresponsible garage mechanic will disconnect the terminal by jerking and pulling until it comes off, when he should have used a simple instrument called a “puller., *’ designed for removing the connection from the pole of the battery. If the owner disconnects the terminal at home without the use of the puller, he should prise the connection off very slowly and carefully to avoid cracking the battery pole or the top of the baiwhere the pole comes through.