A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE

Evening Star, Issue 22722, 9 August 1937, Page 15

A LITTLE KNOWLEDGE

SAVING TIME AND MONEY It is often said that it is senseless for a motorist to make himself familiar with the mechanical details of his car, because the great reliability of the modern vehicle makes it a waste of time. Breakdowns on the road are now rare, and.periodic mechanical attention, it is claimed, is better left in the hands of service stations, who are equipped with the experience and machinery to carry them out far more efficiently than tho owner himself can hope to do. The tiukerer is discouraged, and the motor trade urges, with a great deal of justice, that any mechanical adjustments and repairs should be left to experts. This is very good advice indeed—up to a point. Important jobs, such as brake and steering adjustments, top overhauls, and the like, are far more satisfactory when carried out by an establishment properly equipped to do the work. To foster a cult of extreme

ignorance amongst owners, however, is apt to prove disadvantageous. Owners, for their own sakes and the sake of the reputation of their cars, should be enco.uraged v to, ; make themaelves familiar with the electrical and fuel system at least.

Cars still give trouble on the road, not frequently, perhaps, but often enough to keep the road patrols of motoring organisations fairly busy on holidays and week-ends. Country garages receive plenty of calls from stranded drivers, to whom the mechanism under the bonnet is a complete mj'stery. More often than not the fault can bo remedied quickly and easily if the owner has sufficient knowledge to trace it. Nor would he lose faith in his car, as the ignorant owner is apt to. do, if it .lets him down. A very good instance of when a smattering of knowledge helped a driver on his way occurred early in the year in a small town which did not boast a' service station. The nearest station was in town eight miles away. It was a period of storms, and the motorist found that the electric windscreen wiper would not work. A check of the fuse, the switch, and the wiring found everything in order, and he diagnosed the trouble as dirt on the commutator of the small electric motor. This, illogically, was tucked away fnaccesibly behind the instrument board, immediately above a big bunch of wires running to ignition and light switches. Consequently, in view of the danger of Crossing some of these terminals in his attempts at repairs, he had sense enough first to detach one of the battery leads, a precaution which any motorist working on electrical equipment should always take. With some difficulty the cover of the motor was removed, and the tiny commutator cleaned as well as possible with a cloth. The motorist was rewarded for his initiative by the brisk operation of the wiper arms across the glass. The rain was bad enough to make progress impossible without the wiper operating. Troubles which cause complete stoppages are frequently of a minor nature, and can he put right in a few minutes if the owner makes the attempt. At the same time, it must be pointed out that it is necessary for the owner to realise his own limitations, and not to attempt to tackle anything beyond his skill and knowledge. Involuntary halts are so frequently caused by dirt entering places where it is not wanted, however, that even the dismantling and cleaning of the carburettor floathowl and jots and the ignition distributor is worth trying before calling for help.