The Washington times., 1915-07-03
Adjusting CarburetOr Valve.

The adjusting Of the carburetor so
that the motor will run very slowly
when idling. is not generally understood
by the novice or by many experienced
motorists. 1t is not obtained by altering
the mixture. that is. the proportions OF
air and fuel. but by setting the butterfly
valve of the carburetor. This device Is
q shutter mounted on pivot In the
neck of the carburetor. and the valve
opens and closes when the throttle lever
and accelerator are moved.
If the motor does not run as slowly
as desired. the valve should be so ad-
tusted as to, restrict the amount OF mix
ture passing 10 the cylinders. This can
be accomplished by moving out an au-
justins screw either on the lever opera
ting the valve, or on the carburetor, IT.
self. The part can be easily located by
moving the throttle and watching the
lever of the carburetor. By moving out
the screw the valve will close more
fully The adjustment should be made
with the motor operating. 1t may be
necessary to alter the linkage between
the carburetor and the wheel throttle.
Generally means are provided for
lengthening or shortening 1t as the case
may require. The value of the adjust
ment above referred to Is that the motor
can be throttled down to run very
slowly. and not only is fuel saved but
heating caused by running the motor
for considerable periods when waiting,
will be eliminated to a considerable ex-
tent.
Adjusting Truss Rods.
Many cars, particularly the older
models. have the rear axle re-enforced
by truss rods or a rod. The function
of the rod is to keep the axle tubes
nd ia1
ing from sagging. When these condi-
tions exist the gears are noisy and the
lubricant Is likely to leak out. The rods
should be kept properly adjusted. for
II they become loose, they are likely to
break Usually the break occurs at the
not set up the rod too tight. Adjust it
ssnugly. for If too tight it will invite
hreakage.
Battery Hints.
Practically every motorist using dry
cells for ignition or other work believes
he thoroughly understands how they
should be installed and wired. yet the
writer has noted many instances where
trouble was due to careless installation.
The zinc or outside terminal of the bat
terry should not be placed near each
other. nor should the cells be so placed
in a metal battery box hat the terminals
can make contact with the metal. The
cells should be packed in snugly so that
there will be no movement when the car
Is in motion. Paper is used. but a
better method Is to place square strips
of wood between each cell. then bind
the batteries into a group.
A frequent cause OF a puzzling miss of
the motor is the short circuit caused hy
the wires becoming Chefed where they
pass out through the metal box. This is
particularly true when a metal tool box
Is used to carry the cells. II Is a good
plan to enlarge the opening in the box
and insert a strip of fiber tube, and pass
the wires through the tube. Always
tape each wire separately, then together
as the friction material will provide
additional insulation and prevent move
ment of the leads.
In the occasional test OF the cells with
the ameteT always discard a battery
that reads considerably less than the
others in the group. A weak or dead
cell in II group sets up considerable re-
distance TO the passage OF the current,
and takes much OF the stength OF the