Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-17
BATTERY TROUBLES
DUE TO IGNORANCE
Neglect Ascribed to Lack of
knowledge on the Part of
Owners and Dealers.
INSUFFICIENT CHARGING
FROM VARIETY OF CAUSES
H. S. Bentley Gives His Views Re
garding Vital Part of Every
Well Appointed Car.

The most frequent complaint VITA re-
spect TO batteries botS from dealers and
car owners is. My battery VIII noi
hold the charst sad IL. BENTLEY.
manager OF sales OF iar&" electric
storage battery company, few OAKS
AGO. When tn. battery in question Is
examined hv an experienced battery man
the Owner is almost invariably net Wfth
the statement, An your battery needs
1 sproper charging. Tine owner rouia'
in the majority OF eases. have been ad-
vised by the battery man just why MS
battery needed charging aad. by m
serting an amrere-meter in the charging
circuit and ascertainiuS how much cur
rent was going into the battery al nj
teen miles per hour. the owner Tould
have been saved considerable inconFen-
fence. The machine should be generating
at least the lamp load at this speed OF
the car.
.sInasnuch as the above statements are
an enigma to the man owning the p''t-
terry, an explanation Of the causes ana
effects involved may be timely
Lack of general knowledge OF the
chara cteristics OF STORAGE batteries. on
the part of both dealers and owners -
responsible for Their universal nes!ect,
and nobody worries until the battery
will not hold the charge. Except IN
rare instances. this condition is directly
due to continuously undercharging the
battery.
Neglected by Dealers.
Insufficient charging may arise from
a variety of causes. In some cases pat
rer,es are some time in transit. neces-
sarilv without charging during tins Pc
Rod. and when they are received by deal
al no der
stand the Importance Of giving them
necessary recharSing. FheN may also
remain on the showroom floor and be
used for frequent demonstration OF the
starter without running the motor and
charging generator long enough TO give
the battery any appreciate amount OF
current
in some instances. batteries that have
stood in cars on showroom moor from
one to three months are delivered 10 the
purchaser without any attention or re-
charging and while. even with such abso-
lutte, the battery may give service for
few weeks. it is only a short time untll
The owner complains that his battery
will not hold the charge
Charged to Other Causes.
This undercharged condition can also
be brought about by other causes 1t is
possible for the generator to be out OF
order and fail to deliver current, or
break. or ground. in the circuit may pre-
vent the generated current from reach
ing the battery. The service demanded
from a lighting and starting system may
also be abnormal and cause this condl-
ton.
For example, a physician. or business
man, may drive short distances and make
many stops. In this case, the demand
on the battery for starting is heavy,
while the generator is not run long or
fast enough to replace only a small part
Of the current taken from the battery.
The same condition may be brought about
BY using the car largely at night, in
which case the lamp demand is heavy
while the mileage and speed are not suffl-
cient to replace the current used from the
battery. In other cases. there is con-
slant discharge from the battery when
the car Is not used. and at the end of
week or ten days the battery is nearly
exhausted Under such circumstances
the current furnished by the generator
under normal driving conditions is not
sufficient to supply everyday needs and
at the same time build the battery up to
Its maximum state of charge.
Usually Removed From Car.
AT this point the battery is usually
removed from the car and taken TO some
body for recharging. Most electricians or
garages will charge the battery over
night or for twenty-four hours at most
and the battery is put back on the car
Unless the previous neglect has decom-
posed the separators. causing one or more
short circuits, it seems TO work all right
and the owner is pleased.
But within few days the battery is
again down and out and will not hold the
charge Now the owner is certain that he
has defective battery. His lights are
very dim, the starter will not turn over
the engine. and he writes the manufac-
tnrer of his car or the manufacturer of
mis- battery at great length demanding a
new batter. forthwith
The real fact in all such cases is
that there is no fault whatever in the
battery Itself. bur it is literally starved
To make This clear. let us compare a
asuerN with man y man j. able
20 perform q certain amount of work
as long rs he is getting the necessary
amount Of sleep and food
Compared With Man.
" he is gradually deprived nj either
Ia