Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-10-29

SHORT DAYSH HARD
ON AUTO BATTERIES
-7;s. $3.50 -
More Current Is Used Because
the Lights Are Needed
Much Earlier.
CARS START LESS EASILY

With the coming of shorter days q
frequent complaint to garage man and
battery or electric system expert has
to do with the battery. though in nine
times out of ten the man with the
kick" does not know that 1t IL the
battery: He will talk about the lights
falling every once in a while or the
horn refusing to honk on demand. But
in the majority of cases it is tho bat
terry which is at fault
1T Is more difficult to keep the bat
terry charged at this time Of the year
than 1t is in the summer. says n. C.
Brokaw. principal of the New York
West Side 7. m. :. G. 4 Automobile
School. The reason Is that the sun
sets earlier and just a. our electric
light and gas bills mount at homo be-
cause We light the lamps earlier. % II
Is with the automobile. The driver
who obeys the law uses more cur
rent.
"a complaint came in the other day
from an owner who was experiencing
trouble with his electric plant. The
lights would not work right when he
was running Starting out there was
light, but after running a short time
there was trouble. The lamps were
not work at all times, sometimes one
would light and the other would fail
He went to the garage man. and then
the DINNERS would not work at all.
He went to an expert electrician, who
looked over the battery and declared
1t to be all right. but on the ground
that hes was battery expert and not
wiring expert he could not say why
the lights would not shine
I'm the meantime troubles multiplied.
times. and got SO 1t would work only
after the car had been running half an
hour or so.
His Recharge Was Slow.
while trying to determine the cause
I began to question the owner. I found
that he was employed most of the day
and ran his car only at nights, with
the exception that he made long trips
Saturday and Sunday. and ran quite
late into the night both days. Dur
ing the week nights his trips were
short, with numerous stops. This
caused a frequent use of the self
starter. He found it took longer to
start the car. natural result of the
cooler weather.
81 became convinced that the battery
was being starved-that is, that it was
not getting enough charge to keep the
storage battery at its best. There
wiring. and 1 told him he had better
have the battery charged and see If
his troubles would not end. He pro-
tested that his generator was supposed
1t done at the garage and his troubles
were over.
His trouble was that he did most of
his running at night. and. as he care
fully observed the speed laws. the
extra current, and the battery was
being reeharged at a very low rate,
while being discharged at rather
high rate. In other words, he was
chopping of both ends-burning both
ends of his candle. He was using an
excessive amount Of current and gen.
Grating less than usual, because Of
running at night. starting often and
s siow to s eSsssys sei SPEC; ss
amount Of current which goes into the
batsaky--is inczeAssAstH.p Aopo<tdon> te
the speed Of the car.
Necessary to Use Starter More.
Generators are constructed SO that
they will deliver a normal charge to
the battery for normal running; they
must not be constructed so they will
send out an excessive current. or they
will overcharge the battery. and that is
harmful The sun sets much earlier
now, and the cool weather makes 1t
necessary to use the starter more. In
warm weather one little kick will start
the car OF. In cold weather it often
takes from half minute to minute.
Most engines now are equipped with
carburetor check and printing devices
to facilitate starting when the engine
is cold. but even with these extra cur
rev ia I'M a n
over more to start than when 1t Is
warm.
Then. too, the storage battery drops
off in efficiency as the temperature is
current on a full charge as at a higher
temperature. This comes at time
when there is a greater call on the bat
terry. and where battery falls down
under such circumstances as those
above related 1t is wise to get an occa-
sional charge to help out the gener-
ator.
1T Is becoming the practice to take
all currents for lights. ignition and
other purposes direct from the battery.
using~a generator to recharge it. In
side of year at the most the bottom
of the battery will become filled with q
sediment from the plates. This causes
an internal short circuit, and the bat
terry will discharge itself inside in
stead of outside. At least once a year
a battery should be taken apart and the
beuunent Cleaned out
Some generators are constructed so
that they can be adjusted to deliver
more current on demand-that is, there
Is one adjustment for summer and one
for winter running. Wherever 1t is pos
sible to thus adjust, it should be done.
Otherwise, when battery loses volt
age. IT can be taken off the car and be
charged 1t need not be necessary to
leave II for a twenty-hour charging
period; IL taken soon enough 1t can be
charged In six to ten hours. or when
the car is laid up overnight. Two
nights would be enough. at any rate.
Batteries Have Been Improved.
AS a matter of fact. in self-starter
practice everything1s done to the stor-
age battery that formerly was included
in the list of battery 'don'tsr On ac-
count Of the exceptional demands OF
self-starters, batteries have been Inn
proved so that they stand this to some
extent. but the improvement has not
kept pace with the extra demand put
uponk the battery. =
Come OF the old 'don'ts' are: .-
You should not recharge the battery
at high rate when it is completely
discharged.
CHI