MOTORS & MOTORING

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3035, 23 March 1917, Page 9

MOTORS & MOTORING

TBI CLUIDH.I Rcoliarglng tho Battery. "How often should I recharge the battery?" is a question often asked by amateur motorists. The following is the answer of an expei't:— "When tho motorist uses liis car for niglit driving, it means that his lights ivill bo kopt running for many hours ill each twenty-four. When starts and stops aro frequent and the lights used at.night even for threo hours,.the battery is required to supply a great deal of current, and if the system is not watched, the battery may be kept in an under-charged condition. Mako it a point to tost the battery electrolyto every week for specific gravitv, using a hydrometer for. this. In sucli a caso it would be an excellent plan to havo the battery charged from an outside source if it is found _ tho generator capacity is not sufficient to compensate for tho drain.". Wheels. A study of the conditions of affairs so far as automobile ■ accessories AVo concerned shows a very unsettled, state in the -wheel-producing side of the industry, ■ says l an exchange. ' Although the average car has wooden wheels, recently there have been a great many eteel wheels invented, and facilities for the production of as many wire-wheels as tie industry would like to buy have been lacking. The demand has risen much faster than tho' supply could be advanced, for a wire-wheel making business is not a thing that can bo built up in. a day.. Even to expand the existing; plants and to g;et the requisite machinery and supplies of materials is an essentially slow process. I'huß, while they may not bo stock equipment, the number of. buyers -who tako advantage of optional wire-wheels is growing,, and this wheel is seen everywhere on tho streets and in the open roads. It is hard to tell what may be the outcome of tho steel wheel made from pressings or stampings. This is a typo that has reached an enormous popularity in Europe, where the wood wheel has been almost discarded, but this was'duo to lack of good' material. Tho best sort of wheel-wood is said to bo getting scarce in America, whilo the newer presged-steel Wheels aro some of them as light -as or lighter than wood, and as cheap to make. It is not improbable that the'disc wheel will soon cease to look strange, and that wo shall see'cars coming upon the market with many different kinds of wheels. Hore and There. Ifc cannot be too often urged that all receptacles for oil or grease should be kept perfectly clean. It is not a difficulty matter to take: the necessary precautions to prevent the dirty state which many drivers allow.' Tho refiners of tho lubricants are very careful to supply a good standard article, so that should any dirt enter into tho mechanism with tho oil or grease, the manufacturers, cannot be held responsible for, it. Mud, dirt, or grit play havoc with bearings, and by the undue wear, unnecessary, rapid deterioration .of tho parts is caused.

A length of iusulatioa tape in the tool box will frequently help you out of a-roadside difficulty. It should bo used to bind up cracks in pipes, broken leads, etc. " ' To increase tho pressure of . oil, tighen up tho oil relief valvo screw: To reduce the pressure just rovcrso the operation. Be sure to lock the screw in position when the correct adjustment is made. It is necessary to note that in a long continuous highspeed run tho amount of oil should bo proportionately incrcasod, and it is always well to remember that any lubricating system requires a certain nmount of adjustment between the extremes of heat or oold.

Tho pump is used t/o lubricato tlic L motor; oa the ono side -working to supply the bearings, and on tho other: I replenishing tho tank with tho oil which it sucks, up from tho bottom of the base chamber.' Should the oil supply fail from any cause, the presume gauge on the dash will immediately indicate it, the gauge being in full view of tho driver, the examination of the dial is ' easily, made at any ; time. Failure may arise from any one of the following causes, although tho first is the only one likely to happen l (a) Not sufficient oil in the tank; (b) I breakage of the pump or pipe's, or 'failure of the pressure gauge; (o) suction pipes to pumps stopped up; (d) the sticking of tho pump veins, caused by 4he use of dirty, oil. Only the removal of the oil tank will allow of the remedying of the defects noted in (b) (c) and (d). ; During 1916, motor-cycles to the value of £189,777 were imported into tho Commonwealth. Of this amount £68,357 represented English-made machines and £120,971 American. Victoria was. the. largest purchaser, with £63,952 ivorfli of machines, Now South Wales coming: second with £Gl,786, and South Australia third with £28,744.

■; Except when absolutely necessary, the windscreen should not be raised so jpuch that tho driver cannot seo over it, nor goggles worn .when driving at night, as the reflections from street lamps or other sources of light on the glass surfaces appear as direct lights and obscure objects on the road, sometimes -with unhappy results. _ Especially is this the case when driving in rain. A hint in this direction may bo taken from tse locomotive driver, who as far as possible drives at night with the cab windows open to prevent any possibility of reflection, the only light on the footplate—the gauge lampbeing placed directly in front of the gauge where_ no angular reflection is possible.' Obje&ts outside the area illuminated by the lamps are almost invisible,' so that care must be taken when making a turn in the road or at a road crossing.

A few items for daily attention in the lubricating of a motor lorry: Tiirn greaser (on steerinj spindl©; tarn greaser on bottom of steering column; oil fan spindle, and turn greaser on fan drive; turn greaser on brake shaft 'hearing; turn greaser on clutch centre and clutch-withdrawal raco; and turn greaser for brakp_£ajm. Lighting-up time to-day, G. 4 p.m.; next Friday, 5.51 p.m.