Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-09-23
Simple Tests Show Under
Which General Head the
AiIment Lies
LOOK TO FUEL FIRST
BEFORE STARTING TOUR
Lack of Gasoline is a Common
Occurrence, Even With
Experienced Drivers

to find the trouble and remedy IL is
comparatively wen OF. He will avoid
long delays on the road, prevent more
serious trouble and save himself mo-
ney into the bargain.
Motor car troubles may be CLASH
fed under several heads. First. there
arc motor ailments The engine re-
fuses to start or is hard TO start: II
knocks, misses. lacks power or over
heats Then there are clutch trou-
bles. The clutch may slip, drag, bite
or knock Then again the gears may
be hard to shift or they may grind or
hum By classifying these different
symptoms It is a comparatively easy
matter in most cases 10 determine just
where the trouble is. ~
When the engine baIks Il is almost
invariably due to some defect in the
ignition or carburetion system. OF
course. there is the possibility that
some part Of the valve mechanism has
broken, but this Is unusual The most
common starting trouble is lack of
gasoline. Sometimes the tank is empty
OF you may forget TO open the valve
on the fuel line. Dirt In the feed pipe
or in the carburetor or sticking parts
might also prevent the fow Of gaso-
line. 80
The first thing TO do Is to depress
the float. II Il is buoyant there is ga
soiine In the carburetor and you
know that you must look for the trou-
BILE elsewhere. IL may lie in the igni'
ton.
The initial step In testing the igni
tion is 70 remove one Of the high ten
sion cables and hold one end about a
quarter OF an inch away from the en-.
CINE while II Is cranked. II spark
jumps between the cable and the en-.
CINE the ignition system is in good con.
dition, although the spark may per.
taps be Improperly timed or there
may be moisture on the plug point.
II no spark appears when you make
the test examine all the connections
carefully. Be sure that every terminal
Is tight and that there are no short
circuits. You can do this by thorough.
~ examining the insulation. II your
car is run by battery ignition see
whether or not the battery is run
down
Faulty carburetlon
When motors are hard to start that.
too, is ususily due to faulty carbu-e
tion or ignition Either the mixture
Is too rich or too lean. Every can
buretor is made SO that you can TEN
porarily enrich the mixture in order
70 obtain a few explosions. To do
this You flood the curburetor or close
the estrangler valve which shuts off
the air. IN cold weather or when the
car has been standing for some time
YOU may have to prime the cylinders
with raw gasoline injected through the
yet cocks.
Difficulty in starting may arise
from q weak or incorrectly timed
spark. II YOU have concluded that the
halkiness IS due to the ignition. look
first at the plugs. Be sure that they
are clean. that there are no cracks IL
the Insulation and that the points are
the correct distance apart usually
Ia |nchl Furthermore, the breaker
points must make good contact and
81. 4. 4Iitftment, For most cars the
s.. between the points should be 1854
incl. but this varies II ignition is
....I'&1 bf magnetic the magnet
MUST be strong. and II BY battery the
||''..c must not be too slow. Atem-
..[.II short circuit may also make
|.'|I motor hard to start
|&e|I3 and jerky running are the
result of Intermittent and therefore
faulty action Of carburetion, Ignition
a. valves Missing may be caused by
Hooded carburetoT. which in turn
..t.| b due to dirt under the float
valve 81 q float soaked with gaso-
''|0 or missing may be caused By
am 4. the feed pipe or in the spray
....||. The various parts OF the ear
..|.'.| may stick The float mechan-
. may refuse to work or the aux.
.|| I'D valve may lie down. These
.. TOO. will make your motor
s.. Troubles
ERECT carbnretion may also lie
... BY improper adjustment and
.|I1ge Of air into the manifold or
rs he cylinders through badly fit
.. valve plugs or through worn in
..I valve stem guides. The valves
nay stick or the springs may become
weak so that they do not close IS
quickly as they should. II one valve
spring Is weak the missing Will stop
when you apply a .pulr' toit. "a
The same ignition troubles which
cause hard starting may produce miss.
ing, Look for dirty spark plugs.
points out OF adjustment. cracked
pofcelains. loose connections and worn
Insulation.
After your car has been run few
thousand miles II may develop jerk
This may be traced 10 worn breaker
points. When the motor runs irregu.
larry at low speed look at the valves.
They may need grinding.
Lack Of power may be due to defec
tive carburetioE. ignition. valve &C
ton. mbrication or cooling. The first
three points have already been cover
ed The last two are the cause of lack
Of power through oyerheating.
Aside from deficiencies in design.
which need not be considered here,
the causes of overheating are as fol.
Iows: A loose fan belt. broken pump.
dirty watefiSclzets or radiator, stopped