MOTOR & CYCLE

Taranaki Daily News, 31 May 1924, Page 14

MOTOR & CYCLE

CARE OF THE BATTERY. Most owners will agree that of all components of a car the battery is usually the most neglected item of equipment. In order that it may perform its function faithfully and have a long life, it should receive systematic and periodic attention. The few rules which may be observed with advantage do not involve any great knowledge of electro-mechanics and easily may be incorporated in the routine of car maintenance —oiling, greasing, nut-tightening and so on. One of the first things to remember is that all the cells comprising the battery should be kept filled with the electrolyte to a level half an inch above the top of the plates, using only distilled water to “make up” the level. The battery and the battery compartment should be kept clean and dry of moisture; but to prevent corrosion caused by the acid the terminals or binding posts should be covered, with vaseline. It is an easy matter to vaseline these connections when the battery is new, but many car users postpone the matter until the terminals are badly corroded. When examining the battery always ascertain if the terminals need tightening. Starting up on a cold morning the average starter-motor will consume enough current to require from six to ten miles of driving to replace it from the generator. The sulphuric acid which gradually works out of a battery will soon destroy the bottom of the box that carries the hard rubber jars. This ttoitble may be overcome by putting a handful of ordinary soda in the box accommodating the battery. On no account allow any soda to get into the battery proper. ,Soda will neutralise the action of the acid and if this’is repeated occasionally the battery box will last indefinitely. In winter time, or in the case of a new car, it is good practice to relieve the electrical system of the necessity of overcoming an oil-gummed engine, by cranking for several revolutions. MEETING CATTLE ON THE ROAD. One frequently meets such objects as led horses, flocks of sheep, and droves of cattle while driving along country roads, and every consideration should be shown by the motorist both to the animals and to the man or woman in charge of them Remember that your car is much more controllable than is a sheep or cow. Horses, when they are being led. should keep to the right of the road, the person leading them being between them and othefl traffic. This rule dates back almost to time immemorial. says The Motor. Due allowance should be made for the fact that the horses may be restive, and when meeting led horses in a narrow country road avoid compelling the man in charge of them to halt his animals even if to do so means taking to the right-hand side of the road. This means that first and foremost the horses be allowed the right of way. When meeting a herd of cattle or sheep, it is generally best to stop the car until they have passed This will often be found as quick as trying to pick your way through a moving herd, and obviates the possibility of anyone accusing you of driving into the sheep. With cattle it is generally better to keep moving slowly, hooting frequently, or. better still, shouting at them to get out of the way. A HINT FOR DRIVERS. We hear a lot about comfort for passengers, both constructional and seating, but we seldom see any instructions to drivers as to how to drive in order to give their passengers more comfort and enjoyment. Many lady passengers—it is not always confined to the ladies—are timid and nervous at the uneven driving om an|- experienced, but not good, drivers. If drivers c.uihl take a turn occasionally in %the rear seats they would soon realise the truth of their statement.

Good acceleration and good brakes are essential, but they can be made a curse to the enjoyment of passengers, very few of whom object to. or realise, speed. What they do object to m the violent deceleration and accelera • »n. although they do not say so. because they believe they are necessary evils. This is not the case, and with a little forethought and attention a car can be made to nin similar to the smoothness of a train, with only the loss of a minute or so in a long run. BACKING THE CAR.

iJon’t back the car without making a commotion about it, particularly when handling the car in traffic, as when parking. Pedestrians have a habit >t considering themselves safer by walking behind a car rather than in front of it, and a car that is being backed silently may result in an unfortunate conflict. The necessary warning in backing can be given by running the engine at a higher speed. A chance pedestrian will either hear the exhaust or see the smoke. The writer has from long experience on the water, got into the habit of giving three short blasts on the horn when going astern, and this would not be a bad practice if followed by others. Similarly, signals given by power drivers afloat when turning to the right of one short blast, and two short blasts when turning to the left, would work just as well ashore if motorists only knew what they meant. However, the signal of three toots before backing is the most likely one to be understood, BEWARE OF TRAMS. Trams should be followed at a discreet distance on account of the great stopping power of their brakes. Similar care should be used in passing ahead of them, as their acceleration is astonishinglv frond, a speed of 30 m.p.h. being reached in a short time. Therefore do no* take it too much for granted that you can by simply accelerating reach any point before the tram ahead of you, especially if it is just getting away from a stop. On greasy roads it is as well to keep clear of the tram rails. Some ears fit them to perfection, and difficulty is often experienced in getting them off when it is necessary to do so quickly when the tram pulls up suddenly/ Remember that should you skid the "tram cannot get out of your way J’ke other vehicles, so be careful and plenty of room.

LOCKING THE SPARE WHEEL. One of the risks involved when the car is left unattended is the possible loss by theft of the spare wheel. A very neat and inconspicuous way of preventing such a loss can be effected as follows: In cases where a long bolt passed through the centre of the wheel is used to secure it to a bracket, all that is necessary is to screw the nut holding the wheel firmly in position, and then drill a hole through the nut and bolt. Through this hole can be passed a padlock. If a portion of the bolt protrudes beyond the nut, the hole may be drilled through the bolt only, which method had the further advantage of not injuring the nut in any way. TOWING A SIDECAR OUTFIT. It may occasionally happen that a motorist comes upon a sidecar outfit stranded with some sort of trouble, and would like to give it a tow home. Where the motor cycle had a front stand, this should first be removed and reversed. It is then lashed as tightly as possible to the off-side spring shackle of the car, when it will be found that the cycle and sidecar will follow obediently behind, so that the driver can ride in the car. This hint is useful in cases when the owner of a sidecar combination wishes to deliver a car to someone who has purchased it, and to take with him his combination in order that he may have some means of getting home. LOOK FOR THE CAUSE. There’s a message for motorists in every newspaper story of an accident. Someone’s mistake is always somebody clse’s lesson, but this rule only applies where the reader absorbs his motor news intelligently. In reading the news of automobile fatalities one should try to read between the lines. Somewhere between the unfortunate details of the fatality will be found a face of great Importance. It may be a valuable tip. What was the cause of the accident? What was the real reason behind the apparent cause? How could the driver have averted the collision? How could he have prevented the conditions which made it possible? These are a few of the points which the reader must supply for himself. The facts are there, and it is merely a .matter of habit in learning to look for them. AT THE AMERICAN SHOWS. Undoubtedly the two outstanding improvements in automobile design featured this year at the New York Show were balloon tyres and four-wheel brake equipment (writes a recent visitor to New York from this Dominion). There is no question more heatedly discussed in the American trade to-day than that of the four-wheel brake. Broadly speaking, we may say there are two rival factions, one of which adheres conservatively to the standard practice of brakes on rear wheels only, and a growing group which advocates brakes on all four wheels. This is a broad classification, because the camp of four-wheel brake advocates is most bitterly divided, the bone of contention being as to whether the mode of operation should be hydraulic or mechanical. It was rather amusing for a show visitor to first hear from an enthusiastic demonstrator the unqualified advantages of hydraulic brakes, and then wander but a few steps to where the mechanical brake export bbie-pencilled everything about the other’s system. A MILEAGE AND JJEAR TEST. An interesting test was recently earned out on a 6-cylinder car in England. The car was supplied with a pint of petrol with a view to ascertaining how far it would travel up a certain hill on its various gears. At an average speed of 20 m.p.h. on top the car covered 3.30 miles to a pint, or 26.4 m.p.g. On second gear at the same speed th? mileage was 16 to the gallon. The next test was to let the car go fast, using the most suitable gear for the purpose, the result being that 2A miles were covered at an average speed of 36 m.p.h. on a consumption of 20 m.p.g. Other things being equal, therefore, a car is more economical on fuel on top gear, explaining why a car will give different results- in different hands.

A TIP FOR WET WEATHER. When using the car during a prolonged wet spell, it is a good plan to cover the nickel parts of the car, the lamp rims, bumper, dash instruments, hub cape- etc., with vaseline. The rain will then run off the parts it ordinarily rusts very much as it runs off a duck s back. It* also is advisable to carry a small iar of vaseline along on all trips, for by smearing the instrument board during a driving rainstorm the water which sometimes works in under the wind-shield will run off the dash equipment and down to the floor. This saves much of the trouble that is caused by rust in the ignition and lights switch. HINTS AND TIPS. Although on the high efficiency engine the plug is always mounted as near the centre of the cylinder head as possible, it has been proved that no very great harm results from “pocketing” a sparking ping, so that on a very oily engine, a useful adapter can be made from a piece of gas pipe of a convenient internal diameter about 1 tin long. This , is screwed externally to one end and internally at the other with sparking plug thread, two flats being filed at opposite sides of the pipe, to afford a grip for the spanner. One end of the pipe is screwed into the engine, and the sparking plus? is screwed into the other extremity. Where the device is fitted to Fords n suitable piece of pipe can generally be obtained, ready screwed, from any gas stores. One such device fitted to a Ford has been in use for 20,000 miles and the plug fitted to it has been out only once.-—The Autocar. Although on most cars it is advisable to use the hand and foot brakes alternately so as to equalise wear, particularly'in hilly districts, there are, however. certain American cars on which the hand-brake drum is very diminutive and will not withstand much usage, lining merely intended for holding the car w’hen stationary. . _ A case recently occurred in Britain in which a motorist owning a small ear used a lighted match to examine the acid level, and was very surprised when an explosion occurred which damaged the battery, and, worse still, threw up corrosive acid into the motorist’s face. Doubtless '-e would never have thought

of being so foolish as to inspect the petrol level in the tank in the same way. Potentially, a battery is -quite harmless compared with a petrol tank, but 'there is just one condition when it is very risky to apply a light to the inspection vents, i.e., when the battery is on charge and gassing. The mixed gasses generated—hydrogen and oxygen —are very explosive, and ever since accumulators were invented it has been a we 11-understood rule for safety never to bring a naked light or produce a spark near a battery at any time, but particularly when charging. In the strict sense, an accumulator certainly cannot be considered an explosive article as its elements are quite harmless, but ordinary care must be exercised.—The Autocar.

Considerable difficulty is often experienced when locking on a castle nut by means of a split pin. A sound plan is to examine the bolt before screwing on the nut and filing a line or making a saw-cut across the top of the bolt in line with the split-pin hole. It will then only be necessary to see that the slots in the nut coincide with the mark on the bolt, when the hole can immediately be found. THE ALL-WEATHER CAR. To meet what is considered one of the most urgent motoring needs, the Institute of British Carriage Builders, w’ith other trade organisations, has decided to offer prizes for designs for a new type of all-weather motor car body. An all-weather ■ body is one that can be easily opened up in fine weather and completely closed in wet weather. It is considered that no really satisfactory coachwork of this description has yet been placed on the market. Defects are stated to be: (a) Noise; (b) the vision of the driver is often impeded when the all-weather equipment is in action; (c) not thoroughly watertight; (d) access to the car is difficult; (e) all-weather curtains are often not sufficiently rigid. The absence of these defects has i helped the recent popularity of the 'saloon types of bodies, which have one drawback—they cannot be opened fully during fineweather. DRILLING HOLES IN GLASS. Now that the wet weather has started, manv motorists are contemplating the fitting of a wind-screen wiper. Some of these necessitate drilling the screen, which had to be carried out with care if damage is to be prevented. A threecornered file, 3-Bin thick, should be taken and ground down at the end to a point with square sides. The file should then be fitted in a brace or ordinary hand or breast drill and the hole started. The drill should be constantly dipped in turpentine, and it will then be found that it is quite an easy job to make a hole of the required size. Drilling should be continued until the point breaks and then commenced in the hole 10 ” * 1 " °ther side of the glass. Provided me end of the file is M* moist with turpentine, the result will be very satisfactory.