The Washington herald., 1920-01-25
NEED BETTER !.
WIRING ON CARS
Trouble With Headlamps
And Ignition May Be Re-
ieved by Insulation.
KEEP ALL WIRES TIGHT
Properly Covered Wires
Protected Against Trouble
Makers of Water and Dirt.


We shall impose on the goodness
Of well-knOwn tire manufa cturer
to the extent of paraphrasing his
world famed slogan. 1t is time to re-
wire. The wiring OF an automobile
Is its venous system and owners
ought to familiarlze themselves with
the troubles that poor wiring brings
about A great many of the COM
plants silently borne by the storage
battery. the generator starting motor
and lamps are largely traceable to
the wiring between these units. This
does not mean to say that the units
never are at fault, but l am inclined
to suspect the wiring first
Good wiring Is scarce on American
cars. which built for production re-
qu1rements. are cheapened where YOU
cannot notice 1t. / am familiar with
number Of automobile owners whose
experience has taught them that il is
pest to buy the very best grade OF
insulated wires and cables and place
these on new chassis instead of the
stun supplied. They are not merely
attached, as were the other wires,
but the terminals are more firmly Sc
cured and water and dirt proof con-
d'''-- supplied to protect them.
1 shall illustrate the practical value
Of insulation by recalling the case OF
an owner whose troubles with head
lamps and ignition and starting were
beginning to be unbearable, The
lights were dim, the starter turned
over but meekly: the whole electrical
system of the car seemed debilitated
The battery was removed and cahrsed
from an outside source four times,
then 1t was given up to the battery
man with the remark that It must be
lear the junking point. But the bat
tery man knew better. The battery
was o. X. he said, and the trouble
must be with the charging or with the
cutout or the wiring. This owner had
such faith in the wiring that he had
the generator fixed up the cut out eX-
amiHed. the meter checked before he
had anything done TO the wiring. But
he learned eventually that the insula-
ton OF the charging wire (the positive)
was bad, not visible so, but, never
theless, about to fall away from the
copper wire. At one point the copper
was showing through, and here and
there was intermittent contact with
the frame Of the car. but at a point
where 1t could not be seen-under the
foot boards. Close examination of the
remainder showed the insulation to
be badly cracked at dozens of places.
The cable was watersoaked, and dirty
as well.
What to Do First.
The first thing to do when the
lights grow dim and the starter
Is weak is to test the battery solu-
ton. and If its gravity is 1880 or
better then the battery Is all right.
Since the battery feeds at speeds
usually, below fifteen miles an hour
and the generator takes the whole
load above that speed. II the lights
are dim below fifteen miles an hour
suspect the wiring: the feed out of
the battery. in other words. Frayed
Insulation at the terminals often al
lows a strand of wire to -et loose
and touch another wire contact
point, and you Immediately notice q
slight irregularity in ignition or
lighting In the average car the
electrical connections are in a bad
the instrument board
and you must either remove the
board or fuss underneath and take
a chance on trying to feel the trou-
BILE. Tho charging current travels
through the ammeter. If there is
one. A bad connection at the meter
opens the circuit and the guardian
of the whole system is put to sleep,
which means you don't know
whether the battery Is getting food
or rot. 1
A car is driven over all sorts of
roads in all kinds Of weather and
naturally water and dirt will get
onto the parts. The wiring housed
In the frame channel or on the en-
ginc side of the dash is not ex-
cepted. On rainy day the fan
draft carries water into the engine
compartment and the wires and
cables get their share. Continue
this for many months and the
cables soon soak up enough moist
ure to keep them constantly wet
hence giving continual trouble.
The use of electricians tApe is all
right, but IL an unprotected wire or
cable starts fraying or cracking re-
place it
Wires Must BE Protected.