The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-06-21

charged, but the connecting links be- I
tween the cells loose or dirty, in
which case no current would issue
therefrom. The battery may be out
of order, which means a job for the
battery expert.
Next to the battery comes the
switch. This is often source OF
trouble, as the movable contact arm
may have become soft and bent and
so not be making a contact. The
remedy is to bend this arm back
again, but if the trouble soon returns,
it should be replaced. This arm may
have become furnished and dirty, the
dirt acting as an insulation.
Coil Is Important.
After the switch comes the coil.
This seldom gives trouble, unless it
be abused. With many systems, if
the switch be left on while the engine
is not running, the coil will heat up
and the insulation, which often is only
waxed paper or silk, will melt and
thus ruin the coil. Coil trouble should
only be taken to an expert on this
kind of work.
The next unit after the coil, is the
interrupter Water or oil may have
gotten into 1t, and thus caused it to
be short circuited. The remedy is to
wipe it dry and thoroughly clean.
The interrupter points may not open
or may not make contact. This can
be seen by having some one slowly
turn over the engine while you watch
them. When the roller of the inter
rupter is against the hammer, or high
spot of the cam, the points should be
open about $50 of an inch, or about
Z Il OBJ rNf cit mo &c ard a
illustration shows the position of the
cam when the points are open. When
off the hammers of the cam, the points
must make contact.
In time the interrupter points may
become burned, or "pitted," as it is
termed. This will offer a resistance
to the current and thus cause a weak
ening of the secondary. This may be
sufficient to cause a failure of the
spark. To remedy, get double-faced.
thin finger-nail file and insert it be-
tween the two points and so file them
both at once. If filed separately, you
may get them as shown in Figure 2,
which. if anything, will be worse than
the pitted points.
Never Use Hose.
When washing a car, the hose
should never be played on it, so the
water will get in through the air cells
of the radiator, the yentslots in the
side of the hood, and by getting into
the carbureter and ignition units,
thus cause trouble, When oiling ap-
paratus connected with an electrical
system, care must be taken not to use
too much oil, as, by causing a short
circuit. this may cause more trouble
than too little would. One or two
cups of oil month is usually enough.
The wires are the cause of more
ignition trouble than are the units in
the system. They may become loose
broken, or short circuited. The
short circuit may be due TO the wire
becoming oil or water soaked, to the
insulation being worn off at spots
terminals between the binding posts
and sometimes, to the fact that the
and the insulation have come in con
tact with the metal of the engine.
Short Circuit
Let me tell you what is meant by a
short circuit. Suppose doctor order
ed you to walk around park for ex
ercise, and, suppose, that instead OF
going all the way around you took a
path through the park and thus got
home sooner You would have takeI
a shortcut, or short-circuit, and thus
not nave uono tne Worh YOU were Ut
dered to do
In the same way, il you try to send
a current of electricity through wire
switch, a coil, an interrupter anG
then home, instead of the current go
ing through these units, somewhere
because of a bare wire, ETC., it gets
back to the battery before it has, Il
will have taken a shortcut or short
circuit. The remedy for the short cir
cult is to wrap the barred wire in in
sulating tape, or to replace the wire.
Let us see where the secondary may
give trouble Like the primary, the
coil may have been burned out, ant
the wires have become loose or shor
.circuited. Here, however, the loose
wire, because of the great voltage, Is
not SO liable to cause trouble as it i: