El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-12-21
How To Crank A Motor
How to Prevent I1fck-bac<s; Use of
the Muffler CutOut-CarinE
For the Tires.
BY Phillip GfbsOn.--

- VEN at this late date there are
p many motorists who have the
IL greatest fear of cranking their
machines. having repeatedly suffered
from kicks" or BACK firing. resulting
in sprained thumbs and wrists and
even in disIocations Of the shoulder.
These back kicks are caused by the
rocking back of the motor while on
compression. thus prematurely eNplOd-
ing the charge Of gas in the cylinder,
forcing the piston sharply downward
in reverse direction and, as the
motorist has full weight and strength
upon the starting crank, the latter IS
suddenly wrenched from his grasp,
resulting in a sprained thumb or fin
gers. or the rapidly revolving crank
strikes the wrist or, If the grasp is
retained upon the crank, the jerk or
kick frequently results in Wrenched
shoulder or back.
Before cranking the engine. the Ope-
ratOr should see that that change gear
lever is i'm the neutral position, that
the sparkling throttle is fully retarded,
that the gasoline or fuel throttle has
a considerable degree Of opening, in
order that rich mixture may be ad-
mitted to the combustion chambers
and that the coil switch is turned to
the battery. Besid if dry cells or
storage battery be used for starting.
The crank should be firmly Srasped,
brought to an upright position, pressed
inward and turned downward If,
however, at the beginning of the
downward stroke the crank turns
hard, Indicating compression, it should
be allowed to spring free, revolving TO
its lowest position. again pressed in
ward and sharply pulled upward
against COMPRESSION The danger of
back firing and injury lies in crank
ing downward against compression
and should, by all means, be avoided.
it might be well to add that a few
sharp turns of the crank viii do much
more toward starting the engine than
five minutes of slow spinning" or
grinding. The crank if pulled with a
jerk on the upturn, viii often give
best results
When primary or dry cells are used
as a sOurcetOf electricity for sparkling
upon starting or as auxiliary source
of supply should the magnetic fail, the
most convenient and sensible location
for the cells is upon the fOrWOrd face
of the dash beneath the hood. The
box containing the cells Casually four
in number should be sufficiently
strong. about four inches in depth ana
be securely attached to the dash with
screws. This depth box win allow of
the cells prOtruding some two inches
above the tpO and VIII permit of their
easy removal and replacement How
ever, care should be taken to see that
is by far the most convenient. away
from sight location for the cells; the
heat from the motor does not affect
them adversely. a loose or broken con-
nectiOn is easily discovered, the wiz
ing of the car is shortened and cOnse-
queuUy simplified, thus decreasing
the chances for ignition trouble. and
the cells may be tested at any time by
simply raising the hood and applying
the ammeter.
In order to utilize all the power pro-
duced by the engine, the car should
be equipped with a muffel eutout.
This device will enable the driver to
materially increase the power Of the
engine at the precise moment at which
it is labOring hardest and in need Of
every pound of power produced; that
is labOring hardest under way with
heavy load, driving through sand.
heavy dust or mud, climbing steep
grades and when speed is desired.
While great many mufflers now in
use are very efficient in deadeninS