ON STARTING UP

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 21050, 29 December 1933, Page 4

ON STARTING UP

COMMON DIFFICULTIES The modern car is not a difficult starter, but if certain parts are neglected a certain slugglishness will occur. A common cau~e of starting difficulty is excessive flooding. If you permit liquid petrol to enter the induction pipe, and therefrom to the combustion chamber, the spark does not touch it. Tf the engine is excessively recalcitrant. suspect the ignition. Perhaps one of the plugs is sooted, or the make and break points in the distributor are dirty. It is a good plan, when you parage the car overnight, to race the engine for a few moments. This induces a rich charge in the cylinders and fends to facilitate starting. Having started, do not overdo that business of idling the engine too long. Cylinder wear is occasioned by erosion end corrosion, and these two destroyers are produced by running the engine cold. You should not race your engine at once, because by so doing you impose an excessive strain on bearings which .ire not properly lubricated by cold oil, but it is not wise to allow the engine to idle for a long period. By holding the clutch out, you reduce the energy required for starting the engine, because with the clutch out the gear box is disengaged. You cannot very well hold the clutch pedal clown while you are hand starting, but you can jam it down with something or other. It is obvious that, in order to function properly, any piece of mechanism must be in good condition, and motorists have a tendency to blame their cars or the producers thereof for faults which are resultant upon neglect or carelessness. It is all very well to adopt the principle of " letting well alone," but things might not be well.