New-York tribune., 1918-10-13
But, Best of All, Use
Proverbial Ounce
OF Prevention
By William Fl. Stewart, Jr.

bile School.
The average person is afraid 70 tor.,
the ignition system. If anything goes
wrong he sends for the trouble-msn
and digs deeply into his pocket as
result. But there is nothing about An
ignition system which the average o.
orator may not understand and taxa
care Of.
To be sure, most drivers know how
to take out their spark plugs and clean
them. But st the present time, when
everybody is investing in "victorv
Bonds,' it behooves each individual IN
cut down expenses. One of the bes.
ways is to give the ignition system the
care it deserves and so avoid trouble
and the needless expense that goes
with it.
We first turn our attention to the
storage battery. Every motorisc knows
enough to put in distilled water st
least once in two weeks 10 protect the
plates. He also keeps the terminals
tight and tapes any place on the wires
q,
avoiding short circuits. But he fails
to test his battery, because q hydrom-
eter Is an unknown quantity to him.
Hydrometer Worth Cost
II his battery is not being properly
charged it will be ruined. and further
more during the winter there is danger
of freezing. No, Mr.. Motorist, inves.
81 for hydrometer and have tho safes
I1cr 70
terry at all times should read between
127o and 1900. If it gets as low as
LIS it is being overworked or the
charging system is not taking care of it.
Our next point of interest is the dis
trlbuter. We look at it occasionally to
see ii spark is jumping across the
top, particularly if dirt has accumu-
lated there. 1t is an easy matter to
clean it OCCASIONALLY with q cloth dipped
IN gasolene. But the same danger of
short-circuit exists inside the distrib-
utor, where it fails to make its presence
known, but succeeds in short circuitinc
one or more spark plugs just the same.
1t is not difficult matter to remove
the distributor cover and clean the in.
side. Of course, care must be taken 10
replace I correctly. Care must also
be taken not to pull out any of the
wires unless they are marked. Some
systems have the wires all numbered
to avoid such troubles.
While the distributor is apart look
at the circuit interrupter. Move the
spark lever to open the gap between
the points and see that they separate
the right distance. This distance varies
on different systems, the manufacture
er's gauge being necessary for the pur-
pose: Close the gap by moving the
spark lever and draw a piece Of fine
sandpaper through the points several
tunes. This is where trouble frequent
~ occurs and little prevention is bet
ter than large quantity of cure. See
that the spring is strong and that the
breaker arm moves freely Then re-
place the parts removed.
Care of Plugs Simple
The care of the spark plugs is very
simple. The most frequent trouble is
carbon, 1t being necessary in most cases
TO take the plug apart to clean it.
Never use emery cloth or sandpaper
to clean the porcelain, as it scratches
the glaze, making it all the easier for
carbon TO accum ulate. Use a brush
dipped in gasolene. Emery cloth may
be uaed to touch up the metal pointa.
Set the spark gap small, abouu ttt
thickness Of a hack saw blade. 1t burus
with it rather too small than too large.
A cracked core should be discarded.
Keep few extra cores on hand to IN
place those damaged in use As these
cost less than new plugs this is also
measure of economy.
Finally keep a sharp lookout for
chatng along the wires, as this will
lead to short circuits. A small roll OF
electric tape should be carried and
chafed or burned spot protected Is
soon as discovered. Sometimes w;se
hangs against some part which may
damage 1t. The tape may be used here
10 fasten the wire some place out Il
harms way.
If these suggestions are not under.
stood have some skilled person go over
them with you. Then when the neces-
slty again arises you may do the work
yourself