1932-03-17 — Page 11

THURSDAY, MARCH 17, 1932.

A

THE

CHINA MAIL.

MOTORISTS THIS IS YOUR PAGE

THE ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT.

NEGLECTED BATTERY'S SHORT LIFE

SPECIAL APPLIANCES

COMMON FORMS OF LEAKAGE WHICH BRING TROUBLE.

Although many car manufactur-charged.

brush in its holder be first studied.) The brush should be free in its holder as a tight brush will cause trouble. Manufacturers standard- ize their brushes so that, as a Removing Terminal Corrosion, rule, a proper fit is ensured by or To remove the corrosion the condering the right replacements. nectors should be unscrewed and Bearings will require lubrication at the green deposit thoroughly scrap long intervals, as advised by the led away, a final clean up being manufacturers.

THE MONTE CARLO RALLY.

Won By An English Woman.

Mrs. Vaughan, a London woman

given with emery cloth. On replac No attempt should be made to doctor, has won the Ladies' Cup in ing the connectors on to the pillars take a dynamo to pieces or to inter- the Monte Carlo Motor Rally. She of the battery a thick coating of fere with any of the connections; drove a Triumph car from Umea, vaseline should be applied. If a these are matters to which an elec-in the north of Sweden. battery is prone to corrosion troubletrical service depot should attend.

the vaseline treatment will have to Altering the outpat of the dynamo Her victory greatly surprised her,

be repeated from time to time. It is not as a rule advisable, unless as she had jeopardised her chances is quite likely that the insulation of done at a service depot, although by standing by to render aid in an the cables near the connectors will some car owners are competent so accident to another competitor. also be found in bad condition; if to do. An important point to keep so, any damage should be covered in mind is that on many cars the

A

The results in the heavy car class

ers have effected improvements in As regards the internal construc- with adhesive insulating tape or ignition distributor is attached to were: the matter of rendering the battery tion of a battery, such as the plates rubber tape fixed with rubber solu- the dynams; consequently if this H. Vaselle (Hotchkiss), who 1-asonably accessible for mainten-and separators. It is not possible tion. It is most important that no be removed the ignition timing will started from Umea (Sweden), 1st

nce there are many instances for car owners to do anything, the damaged part of the insulation be upset.

prize: D. M. Healey (British In- where it is inaccessible and conse- aid of a battery service depot being should make contact with any of

Methods For Tracing Shorts.

tlso vieta), who

started from Fortunately these sex-the connecting bridges on top of the quently does not receive the small essential.

Troubles with batteries are often Umea, 2nd prize, and Ivanowsky amount of perindical attention that vice depots are very numerous, and battery, and the cables should be is desirable. A neglected battery if a battery requires new plates they carefully adjusted to prevent this of a very mysterious nature. will have a short life and so in- can be fitted in a matter of a few happening and causing a short cir. failure to hold the charge and rapid (Ford), 3rd prize.

sulphation are symptoms that there crease expenses. First in the mat- hours, special appliances being used cult."

Is a direct path somewhere for the ter of battery maintenance is the for opening up a battery, fitting new Attention to Dynamo.

current. It may flow very slowly, necessity for keeping the electroplates and recharging at very mo- It may be taken as an indication ie., there may be considerable re- Lord de Clifford (Lagonda), 16;

that the dynamo is in good order sistance-but Distilled water should be added A point of maintenance which the so long as it maintains its charg will result. Some suggestions for Gordon Simpson (Singer), 27; S. through the vents from time to time car owner can quite well attend to ing rate as shown by the ammeter. tracking down

lyte above the level of the plates, derate prices.

The placings of other British competitors in this class were:

even so sulphation H. E. Symons (Sunbeam), 28; Mrs.

this trouble may Harris

(Rolls-Royce), 31; D. H.

to keep the level fairly constant, is keeping the exterior of the bat- Owing to its solid and simple con- therefore be of service to the moter-Noble (Hillman), 35; and. T. C.

only just sufficient water being add-tery clean and dry. Any deposi-struction the mechanism needs very ist.

ed to maintain the normal strength. tion of acid on top of the battery little routine attention. Every few A simple test will show whether Mann (Lagonda), 87.

On no account should acid be will inevitably cause a slow leak thousands of miles the commutator or not current is "aking." With- added by the owner. Should this age of current.

If this trouble bo should be cleaned through apertures out in any way disturbing the elec-awarded to G. De Lavalette (Peu The first prize for light cars was at any time become necessary, it persistent the battery should be which are made accessible by retrical connections to lamps. should be done at a battery service sent to a service depot for examina-, moving the Inspection cover. depot, as important tests are neces- tion of the vents and glands. An-the machine running at a very low cut-out, etc.; take off one of the second, and V. E. Loverett (Riley), With witches, starter, horn, dynamo, geot), A. Baillot (Peugeot) being sary when adjusting the specific other point that the owner-driver speed a clean plece of rag looped leads to the battery by disconnect third. gravity of the electrolyte by adding can attend to is to clean off any over a slip of wood should be in- Ing it from the battery terminal. acid. The state of charge of a bat corrosion from the connectors serted and lightly pressed on to Then insert between the lead tery can best be tested by a battery Many und cases of corrosion occur the revolving commutator.

(i.e.. cable) and the terminal on the hydrometer. When fully charged on neziccted batteries, and the

After a very long mileage new battery a voltmeter or ammeter and the electrolyte will register a spe- efficiency of the equipment, particu brushes will be required and re- see if the needle swings. If it tific gravity of 1,280, or thereabouts larly the starter motor, is adversely newal of those parts is not a diffi- noves at all then there is current

cult matter if the fixing of

and less in proportion as it is dis-affected.

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the

flowing and a ̈"short" somewhere- the wire is touching some metal part which it ought not to touch,

Next, go to the switch panel and trace the wire from the switch to the battery. Disconnect this from the switch and Insert the ammeter to ascertain whether the current: still passes. If it does then there Is probably a short in the switch wire. If all switches are "off" then

it is obvious that the leak must bej between the battery and the awitch. The lead from the battery to the switch should be carefully examin-į

It may be found to have fray-

ed.

ed.

A Common Form Of Leakage. Another common form of leakage which often gives us this battery! trouble OCCUTS when an electric horn is wired up, to the battery directly by a wire which is attach- ed to the battery terminal and is' run to the horn, thence to the switch and then to earth,

If this horn push is on the steer- ing wheel the wire has to be led to the wheel and must move every time the wheel is moved. It even- tually frays where it rubs againstį some metal part. The wire should) be disconnected from the battery and the voltmeter or ammeter put) into circuit with it and the battery.Į The needle will tell whether the wire is shorting anywhere.

A good arrangement for testing. | electric circuits is known as the bell test. Procure a small dry battery and an electric bell. Only a amall bell is needed and a small dry cell. Fix the bell and battery on a board. Wire one terminal of the bell to one terminal of the dry cell and take a wire from the other terminal of the bell and a wire from the other terminal of the ball and a wire from the other terminal of the cell.

These wires, If connected, will ring the bell and, can be used to examine the electrical circuit of the car. By touching any part of the circuit which should be dead with one wire, and the car frame earth with the other you will cause a current to flow and the bell will ring if there is a "shört?”

Disconnect the car battery while you are making this test.

If the bell rings you know that the wire to which you have con- nected the ball circuit is in contact somewhere with some metal part of the car, and that is the cause of your trouble. Trace this wire through and make its insulation good and complete.

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