Motor Wisdom on Holiday

Ladies' Mirror, Volume 4, Issue 8, 1 February 1926, Page 37

Motor Wisdom on Holiday

BEFORE leaving home make sure that your car is thoroughly lubricated from end to end. Do not over-lubricate the main units, or you may flood your brakes with oil or cause yourself, clutch trouble, but at the same time make sure that every greaser has had attention, that the belts—if anyare property adjusted; and that your tyresespecially if of the low-pressure type—are correctly inflated. Start right, and you will not go far wrong; start wrong and you are not likely to finish right. As regards the minor failures, the carburation is the most usual culprit. With a new car the tank may not have been properly cleaned out before the car left the works, with the result that a curious assortment of foreign matter duly works into the carburettor or stops up the filter. Find out where the filter is and clean it before starting; also take out the float, clean the “slush” from the bottom of the chamber and remove and clean the plug (or plugs) under the jets. The symptoms of a defective petrol flow are usually spitting back and periodical pulling up. An air—apt to occur if the petrol pipe is a curly one, especially after the tank has been run emptyis identical in effect; and it can be permanently cured by bending the pipe by hand, so that it continues at a constant down grade from the tank to the carburettor, and thus any high point at which air might lock is

eliminated. An air-lock usually takes effect when the engine is running fast, whereas dirt and water generally affect the pilot jet first, and the engine stops immediately one takes one’s foot from the accelerator pedal.

IN these days ignition troubles are rare, and rarely indeed is the magneto to blame for such as occur. In case of the engine failing, either lack of fuel or the absence of a spark must be the cause. If the carburettor floods freely, you can be

fairly sure that ignition is the fault. Remove one plug, and lodge it on the top of the engine with wire attached as usual, taking care that the top of the plug is clear of any metal part, and with it lodging there, get your passenger to depress the starter button, thus giving the engine a few sharp turns. You will instantly see the spark if there is any— not, then there you are! In case of no spark, uncover the contact breaker of the magneto to make sure that the points have not worked loose, and that the arm is not stuck. If the magneto is remote borrow a mirror from a lady passenger, who will have one in her vanity bag, and examine the contact breaker by reflection. If everything seems correct restore the cover and forget the contact breaker. Should there be no spark at any of the cylinders, the magneto is assuredly to —probably it is moist, and will have to be dried —but occasional misfiring in one or two cylinders is rarely the magneto. Ten to one, a plug is to blame, and should one or two plugs oil up, do not be misled into thinking that the oil is necessarily the cause. Probably the oil is there because, since the plug is defective, no explosion has been occurring in that cylinder, so the oil has accumulated. This can always be proved or disproved by changing the plugs over or by fitting a spare one in the idle cylinder.