New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1921-08-28
knowing Electric
Troubles and How
To Remedy Then,
An Important Thing for the
Motorist and One That Will
Save Many a Long Delay at
the Roadside, Expert Saws
By II. Clifford Brokaw
Technical Director, West Side Y. N
{. A automobile Schools

IfOuDIe on the road nova DAYS from
something electric than probably from
any other cause And doubtless the
electrical parts Of a ear are the least
understood by the average owner.
Many autoists have no idea OF the
functions Of batteries and wires and
switches and other parts of the cleo
anything along this line goes wrong.
they are helpless.
In dealing with the electrical equip
ment of machine the owner should
understand that complete circuit is
necessary in order to have the current
90 its work. That is, starting with
the battery as the source, a wire leads
the current from the battery through
the switch to the device to be operated
and then the current must be led
back to the battery
In looking for troubles the first
thing to inspect is the battery To see
II it is charged voltmcter or HYDRO
meter should be used. Each terminal
from the battery should be tested. For
instance, there is q wire to the light
ing switch. 1t is insulated, and the
first thing to test, after making sure
that the battery is all right, is at the
switch. ii there is no current there
the wire may be broken or the terminal
connections poor. But whatever the
trouble may be it muse be limited to
this one small stretch Of wire
The next step is to test where the wire
leaves the switch to 90 to the device to
be operated If the current gets to the
switch and does not get out Of it it is
apparent that the trouble is in the
switch, or if it gets to the switch, but
not through the fuse, the fuse is at
fault.
If the current leaves the fuse, but
does not get to the lamp which the
switch controls, then it is certain that
the trouble is in that wire somewhere.
II the current gets to the lamp but the
lamp will not light, it is certain that
the difficulty is in the lamp. If the
current is traced through the lamp but
does not reach the battery, then the
wire leading back TO the battery is at
fault.
Ii the juice is carried back through
the frame of the car, as is often the
case, frequently the ground connnec-
tions are poor or there is a break in
the ground. Thus ground wire might
be attached to a piece of iron on the
dash. If the dash is Of wood, that
piece of iron might be insulated from
the remainder of the metal work of the
car and the ground connection would
be complete.
A friend OF mine recently spent half a
day, aided and abetted by friendly
neighbors, trying TO find out where an
extra wire on his switch should be con-
nected. He could not get the engine
started, the horn would not blow, the
headlights would not light, the starting
motor would not turn over, but the
dash and tail lights, which were in
series, did light.
A little experimentation developed
the fact that when the starting pedal
was depressed the Dash light grew very
dim. This indicated that it was not
possible to draw a large amount OK
current from the battery or that the
battery was either in discharged con
dition or that the connections leading
from it were poor. 1t was found that
when the wire connected to the battery
term nal was moved the light would
brighten up. This wire was disconnect-
ed and cleaned carefully to make sure
that the contact was good. But when
it was assembled there was no i'm
provement. So it was taken apart
again, and careful inspection showed
that one end Of the taper on the IN
side Of the terminal had slight
shoulder which prevented the taper end
OF the wire from being drawn into
place snugly. Therefore very ligh:
contact was made, and sufficient cur
rent could not pass TO operate the
starting motor. This shoulder was re-
moved with a penknife. and the engine
started without difficulty
Several hours Of time would have
been saved if the owner had started to
look for the trouble at the source of
the current, instead of puzzling over
the end Of wire that was not intended
TO be connected TO anything and had
nothing to do with the trouble. 1t was
simply al extra wire for use in case
some certain new device should be in
stalled. In my experience corroded
battery terminals are responsible for
M jority Of the electrical troubles.
A week later this same man was UNI
able to start his engine, and again he
worked over it for several hours before
calling for help. This time the lights
were all right, but the engine would
not start To determine the condition
Of the battery he turned on light and
depressed the starter pedal, as before,
to see If the light would dim very
much under the heavy load. AS 1t did
not, it was decided that the battery
was al right this time.
The hood was opened and It was OBJ
depressed the fan did not revoiye and
therefore the engine was not being
turned over, though one could hear the
starting motor buzzing plainly. This
showed that the overrunning clutch Of
the starter motor was slipping. AS
correcting this trouble was a shop job,
the owner cranked the engine over by
hand, but still it did not start.
To make sure that the spark was be-
ing delivered, the wire leading from
the ignition coil to the high tension
distributor was disconnected and given
about one sixteenth-inch gap. AS
soon as this was done it was plain TO
see that spark WAS being 1eiive red.
Also the engine started Immediate! y.
Making q slight gap in the secondary
circuit increases the intensity of the
spark ut the plug and often aids in
starting balky motor This was an
occasion when an outside spark gap
was Of value. After the engine was
warmed up, it could be started any
time without difficulty.
horns which give out awful sounds IN
place of the usual not-too- musical
tones, and sick lights which fail to
brighten the corners where motorists
are apt to be in the night. Most Of
these troubles point to the fact thai
complete circuit Is necessary to have
an electrical current do tia work
Therefore, when electrical troublcs &C.
cur, the course Of the juice should be
ovaroineI frat and thcn tina currrrt