STARTING OUTFIT.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 18917, 4 February 1927, Page 6

STARTING OUTFIT.

CARE OP BATTERIES. ATTENTION TO DYNAMO. It is a curious thing that though the precautions necessary for keeping the accumulators or batteries of the car electrical equipment in good order are of such a simple naturo, the groat majority of motorists treat this part of their cars with groat neglect. Whereas no ono with any pretentions to common sense would dream of allowing his engine to work without paying attention to the correct level of oil in tho baso chamber, tho same individual will have no qualms of conscience in depriving his accumulators of the occasional drops of distilled water upon which their longevity and efficiency undoubtedly depends. Half tho trouble experienced with the electrical equipment of a car is duo to neglect of this simplo character. Some of the com' mon forms of ill-treatment to which car electrical equipment is subjected, of which perhaps the most usual are attempts to start the engine when cold, or under unfavourable conditions by tho aid of tho starter alone. Point to Remember. Before making any such attempt one ought to remember that the accumulator may happen to be in a partially exhausted condition owing to the use of the lamps for a long period when the car has beon standing on the previous evening. Thus it is unable to supply the necessary amount of current to work the starter motor, as this consumes a tremendous amount of electrical energy, oven if the normal compression of the engine alone has to be overcome. But the work thrown upon the starter is generally augmented by the fact that the oil in the engine has become cold, and in that state had a decided tendency to impede the movement of the working parts. This becomes obvious when attempts are mado to swing the engine by hand on cold mornings. In order to maintain the accumulators in a state of reasonable efficiency, some attention may occasionally be needed with regard to the dynamo, and hero is whore many car-owners go wrong, for not being fully conversant with the electrical theories of current generation, they may be tempted to leave the dynamo to take care of itself, which is a great mistake. The result is that the efficiency of the dynamo gradually dlminishes, and in a comparatively short space of time the accumulator becomes absolutely ruined. The Commutator. From a mechanical point of view there is practically nothing to go wrong with the dynamo as the armature runs on ball-bearings and these are well protected. The commutator and brushes, however, need regular attention in order to obtain the best current output. As the collector brushes wear down the adjustment of the upringa holding them in contact with the commutator should be regulated to avoid sparking, and the latter defect will cauae the commutator to become blackened with particles of carbon, which, forming a conductor between the insulated strips of the commutator cause loss of electrical energy generated in the armature windings. The condiion of the commutator can be readily restored by the simple expedient of removing all the brushes from their holder and wrapping a piece of fine Ss naper round a stick of wood cut & fit loosely into one brush holder. By ..nrrAnt Generated in the armature wSgs. The blackening of .the com„n,S is usually due■ t. i»PJ £ contact of one or moro of the »™ sn ™> so that *hilo looking over this part of the dynamo the matter should receive

lator should be kept to its proper level. Distilled water should be usod. It is a common practice to collect rain water in glass or enrthenwaro dishes for this purpose, and in some places artesian water has beon found that gives no trouble. This, however, is quite accidental. Bain often collects deleterious matter from the atmosphere, and artesian water Is frequently worse than that stored in iron tanks.