USE OF THE STARTER.

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume XLVI, Issue 3211, 17 April 1928, Page 2

USE OF THE STARTER.

The fact that there is considerable misusage of the starter will be obvious. It is not unusual to hear a starter kept continuously engaged, without effecting a start until it almost comes, to \ stop, a sure sign ;that, for the time being, the battery has been exhausted. The only conclusion as regards this practice is that.the car is being handled by a very inexperienced, if not a careless owner who is not; conversant with the elementary principles of starting.

The term "starter" should not be taken top literally, as strictly speaking, the function of the starter is to give initial rotation to the engine. If an engine will not start in a matter of a few seconds—say, 15 seconds at the outside—it may reasonably be concluded that the starting conditions are unfavourable, arid it is merely straining the battery by an excessive discharge and causing wear to the- starter gear. The mechanical parts have necessarily to be of small dimensions and well made, as the gear is not designed to withstand the severe ill-usage it may receive in persistent attempts to start an engine that cannot start:

Generally, the fault can be quickly put right at the carburetter. Another fact to keep in mind is that the run-

ning down of the battery is certain for a time to have an adverse effect on the lighting, as a considerable amount of recharging will be necessary to restore the voltage to normal. ,