THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Taranaki Daily News, 18 November 1933, Page 3 (Supplement)

THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

VALUE OF GOOD CONNECTIONS. ENSURING EFFICIENCY. A good deal of trouble may be saved if the connections of wires in the lighting, starting, and ignition systems of the car are looked to occasionally to see, first, that they are tight and making good contact, and second, that in the event of their working loose they cannot come into contact with a metal part of the car and cause a direct “earth.” This latter point refers particularly to those wires which carry current immediately from the battery, usually only to the starter and switchboard, but sometimes also to a roof light. It is a good plan to tape these wires with sticky insulating tape after making the connection and screwing the terminal screw or nut up very tight. This procedure also prevents corrosion, and the inadvertent “shorting” of the wire by tools when making some other electrical adjustment or replacement in the vicinity. When disconnecting and handling these wires, unless the battery has previously been disconnected by way of precaution, it is obviously necessary to exercise the same care to prevent earthing through adventitious contacts.

Terminals should always be quite clean and bright. Scraping with a small knife over the whole surface which will come into contact with the cable or wire is the best way of ensuring a clean metallic contact over a good area. Wires should also be clean. In stripping the insulation from wires in order to make connections, care should be taken to see that the strands of the wires are not cut with the knife,

for failure of lighting and other electrical fitments can sometimes be traced to wires which have been inadvertently cut when being stripped of their covering. The insulation should be stripped off no further than to expose just enough naked wire to make the connection, but if any wire is exposed after the connection has been made it should be wrapped with, insulating tape. 5 USE OF SOLDER. To make a real job of connections, stranded wires should have the strands sweated (soldered) together at the ends for half an inch or sufficient to present a solid wire for bending round the terminals or putting through terminal eyes. This binding together with solder makes for security and a good electrical contact. In so sweating or soldering the wire, use one of the resin pastes now sold in boxes for that purpose, not killed spirit o of salt, which often causes rusting of any iron or steel part and corrosion of terminals and wires with the risk of subsequent faiure; Better still, use one of the resin corded solders now on the market for electrical work. A small mirror and torch are often useful for examining out-of-the-way wires and terminals, particularly when the wiring at the back of the switchboard is being dealt with. With their help one can see what to do, without necessarily removing the switchboard complete, and there is less likelihood of wires getting mixed up, or stray strands of the ends of wires making contact with a neighbouring terminal and upsetting the circuits, which is easily done when attempting to make electrical coiftacts by feel alone without vision.

Endeavour to keep oil away from rubber insulated cables, or all wiring for that matter. This applies particularly to high-tension ignition cables, as the continued presence of oil will cause early disintegration of the insulation, and leakage of. the current. Cables passing through the wings to the lamps are protected by rubber washers from fraying on the wing edge, but after a period of usage it is possible for this washer to come adrift, or perish, so that it ceases to protect the cable. Such cables therefore, be examined on occasion to verify that they are not being worn or cut at any point. A new rubber washer should be fitted when and wherever necessary. These cables are usually of the armoured variety, and when their armouring is severed it may tend to uncoil to leave an increasing length of the cable exposed. Timely taping with insulating tape will prevent this. Apart from the making of good electrical contacts throughout the system, it is, of course, essential to ensure efficient insulation, and as dirt and dust reduce insulation, efficiency cables, particularly high-tension leads, should be kept as clean as possible.

Exposed cables occasionally suffer from chafing as a result of escaping from the clips which hold them in position, and an examination of the wiring now and then will enable such faults to be detected in time. Lastly, any wires or cables which are much damaged in this way, any armoured cables which have lost their armouring, or any rubber-covered cables which have become hard and show cracks, due to the rubber having perished, should be renewed without de]ay._“F.H.B.” in the “Austin Magazine.”