MOTORDOM

Greymouth Evening Star, 10 March 1933, Page 9

MOTORDOM

NEWS OF THE ROAD

(By

“Gearbox” )

JAMMED STARTER. METHODS OF RELEASE. The Bendix drive fitted to nearly all electric starters is one of the most reliable pieces of mechanism used on a car, and it will only jam if parts of the starting mechanism are badly worn, mis-used, or neglected. ’Io release a jammed starter pinion proceed as follows: —

(1) If the starter is of the type fitted to most British cars during the past year, pull off the knurled cap that covers the bearing at the commutator end of the starter. This will reveal the squared end of the starter armature shaft. Free the pinion by rotating the shaft with a spanner. (2) On other types, if the drive is not enclosed, the pinion can usually be freed by tapping it endways with a piece of hard wood. (3) When the drive cannot be reached engage top gear and rock the car or push it forwards and backwards a yard or so. (4) Should these remedies fail, remove the starter. Before doing so, however, uncouple the cable, taking particular care to tie it out of the way in such a manner that its metal end cannot come in contact with any part of the -car. If it does, it may cause a “short” which will seriously damage the battery. (5) On a few cars the starter is held in place by a metal strip surrounding its body. To remove the starter, disconnect the cable, and after unscrewing the turn-buckle that holds the ends of the strap together, lift out the starter. On the majority of cars, however, the starter is held in position by a three-screw spigoted flange. To remove it disconnect the cable, take out the three screws that hold the starter flange to the flywheel housing, and pull the starter away. If the spigot is a tight fit, as it probably is, the starter should be tapped on the side, at the end remote from the flange, with a rawhide hammer or a piece of hard wood. (6) Examine the armature shaft. If it is bent there is nothing for it but to return the starter to the makers to have the shaft straightened or a new one fitted.

(7) Inspect the screwed sleeve, on which the Bendix pinion is mounted, for dirt, as this causes jamming. Clean with paraffin and lubricate with a few drops of cycle oil.

(8) The engine usually comes to rest at one of two places if it is a four-cylinder or one of three positions if it is a “six.” At these points the flywheel ring teeth may be damaged. Should the damage be slight the teeth can be dressed up with a file. When the car is next in for overhaul the ring should be shifted round so that engagement comes on a new set of teeth. The better scheme, however, is to have a new ring fitted.

(9) Jamming is occasionally caused by the starter being loose on its mounting. This allows it to move when the teeth engage and consequently the teeth tend to climb over each other and lock. The remedy is obvious.

(10) When pressing the starter button do so unhesitatingly and firmly, pushing it squarely in the centre, for, if it fails to go right home, the poor contact may lead to trouble. (11) Many engines run so quietly that it is next to impossible to tell, by sound and feel, whether the engine i has stopped when it is ticking over in traffic. When in doubt step on the accelerator and see if the engine responds before pressing the starter button, for engaging the' starter with a running engine may result in its being damaged. (12) The most prolific cause of jamming is starting with ignition too far advanced. This sets up a backfire, and as, at that moment, the starter is exerting full power in the opposite direction, something is bound to be over-strained. (13) To prevent further trouble always retard the ignition in starting. (14) In cold weather the, risk of damaging the starter is greatly reduced if the engine controls are set in the starting position, the strangler is closed, and the starter is allowed to turn the engine over for three or foui' seconds before the ignition is switched “on.” This fills the cylinders with gas, shears the cold, “gummy” oil film, and gives the flywheel sufficient momentum to obviate the risk of a backfire.

NEW MOTOR-CODE. RANGE OF SPEED. Since the passing of the Motor Vehicles Act more than eight years ago, innumerable regulations have been made for national application, and a serious effort to co-ordinate these ordinances has culminated in tiro gazetting of assisting regulations which embody practically everything the motorist should know. The Gazette notice issued last week revokes numerous earlier regulations, but many of the familiar motorist’s “don’ts” appear in approximately the same form in the new code. Drafts of re-regulations were circulated some time ago to automobile clubs and other interested parties, and some opportunity was given for criticism before the schedules were finally ready for gazetting. The Motor Vehicles Regulations, 1933, make a formidable budget, and consist of about 16,000 words. A very large proportion of these words may mean the difference between a clean license and prosecution, and it is fortunate that there is more co-ordina-tion than actual innovation in the new regulations.

The section relating to speed makes it clear that even in the absence of local-body restrictions a speed of more than 40 miles an hour will be an offence on any clay or waterboard macadam road in the Dominion. The relevant regulation is that no person shall drive in excess of 40 miles an hour over any road which has not a concrete-tar, or bituminous surface. This distinction is apparently intended to discourage speeding on the loose metal or rubble surfaces often found in rural areas.

On the other hand, a sweeping license to travel at over 40 miles an hour on concrete or bitumen is not extended. The offence of driving under “circumstances which might be dangerous” remains and the onus is placed on the motorist to prove that in the absence of any other limits, in excess of 35 miles an hour' is not dangerous. Apart from these general provisions, the regulations continue the system of local restrictions which has existed for some time, and 25 miles an hour is the standard maximum for a borough or town. Between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., on school days the limit is 15 miles an hour in the vicinity of schools. The same limit applies to the approaches to corners where the view is obscured. The right of local bodies to apply for special and individual local restrictions remains. BRAKES, LIGHTS AND SIGNALS. The duties of traffic officers are the subject of some space, and power is given to a police or traffic officer to demand the surrender of number plates if he considers the equipment of a vehicle is not fit for service on the road. Lighting is exhaustively dealt with, and most of the points regarding adjustment of headlights and anti-dazzle precautions should already be known to motorists. A tail-lamp must be powerful enough to. render the rear number plate readable at a distance of 60 feet. Brake equipment is demanded up to specified standards. A footbrake is illegal if it does not stop a vehicle in 40 feet from an initial speed of 20 miles an hour. Handbrakes must be effective for parking on steep grades without recourse to the old trick of leaving the gears engaged to utilise the compression of the engine. A siren is exclusive to a fire-engine, a bell to an ambulance, and a whistle to a vehicle collecting milk or other farm produce. By no means new, but worthy of emphasis, is the regulation that motor-cycles must have efficient silencers. The mere existence of an exhaust cut-out on a machine is a breach of regulations, apart from actual employ, ment of the device. Rules of the road and the signals required by drivers are embraced by the regulations. Drivers who are concerned in accidents are responsible for the removal of broken glass from the roadway, the only excuse for neglect of this being injury in which case the persons who remove the vehicles become liable for any debris. STICKING VALVES.

When an engine makes a very feeble attempt to start, even though the battery is strong and the ignition in order, there may be much to be gained by looking at the valves before calling in outside assistance.

Remove the cover-plates over the valve compartment: then ask somebody to press on the starter-button and' watch the valve stems and springs carefully to see if any of them “hang up.” If a valve sticks open there will naturally be a wide clearance between the tappet and the end of the stem. When this has been detected, remove the sparking plug of the cylinder concerned, inject some petrol or penetrating oil around the valve and then force it down with a screwdriver or similar instrument. In most cases a sticking valve will come down immediately a screwdriver is pressed into the coils of the spring to increase the tension. SPARKING PLUG UNIFORMITY. Carelessness on the part of the own-er-driver in the setting of sparking plug gaps and in the selection of new plugs to take the place of the original ones may cause the most care-fully-balanced and smooth-running engine to become comparatively “rough” and fail to develop full power. The standard width of sparking gap recommended by the makers and the standard type of plug adopted by them for the individual engine are decided upon because lengthy tests have shown that they give the best, results. Consequently, if those standards are departed from in one or more cylinders those cylinders will not develop the same power, individually, as the others. Thus, on© “long reach” plug in a set of six will cause the ignition timing of that cylinder to be in advance of that of the others, and a normally smooth-running engine may give rise to vibration suggesting that it has four cylinders, not six. Hillclimbing, fuel consumption, ease of starting, acceleration —almost every factor of car performance is affected by variations in sparking plug gap or gaps and length of reach. The moral is, of course, that sparking plugs should be set carefully to the gauge, and if a new plug is purchased it should be of the same make and type as the others. PROSECUTIONS. Comment on the methods sometimes adopted by traffic inspectors in their endeavours to enforce the motor regulations is made by the Auckland Automobile Association. After commenting on a practice described during the hearing of a prosecution a short time ago, the association says:— “Another practice which is alleged concerning some traffic inspectors is that of driving behind a car with the lights shining through the rear screen, and so giving the leading motorist an incentive to accelerate out of the dazzle. As the leading motorist accelerates, so the dazzle follows him until sufficient speed has been attained to warrant a magistrate inflicting a fine, and the following driver, it is alleged, then either goes ahead and stops the motorist or quietly takes his number and sends formal notice. The control of traffic is necessary but the persecution of road users must cease.”