The Washington herald., 1922-01-22
Motor Problems
Solved by Cooley,
Motor Authority

Each week IN this department
questions regarding the automo-
bile and Its equipment will be
answc-ed. Questions should be
sent to z. H Cooley. vice
president and director of educa-
tion. American Motor Schools,
is12-1622 u street northwest
They will be, answered In this
column Sunday following their
/ receipt.
Personal attention will be.
gladly extended to patrons OF
this column in the event that ex-
| plantations here are not thor.
| oughly understood. Call at the
/ American Motor School.
O. When I step on the starter
button the motor makes a vainless
effort to turn over. then stalls. I
can detect Kissing noise at the
battery and on examination find
that the middle cell Is extremely
warm. What Is the trouble. and
please say whether II will be prac-
ticai for me to remedy It?
A. The trouble you speak OF Is
undoubtedly short-circuited plates
In the middle cell. Unless you are
equipped to do such work sug-
gest that you take the battery to a
battery station. The cell may sim
ply need reinsulating, but Onore
than likely you will find buckled
plates
OIL thought that tire tape was
used to insulate wire. Recently I
put some on the spark plug leads.
but the spark jumped right through.
Can you explain II. please?
A. Tire or friction tape Is not
considered very good insulating ma
terial. 1t Is used to prevent actual
contact, and where Insulating con-
ditions are desired the joint is
first wrapped with )rubbef tape. The
leads, and are. therefore. surround
ed by an extra heavy rubber wall.
Friction tape being thin and OF
poor insulating qualities, therefore.
did not prevent the spark from
jumping.
Q. have a Chandler car. and
sometimes when turn of the igni-
tion the engine keeps right on run
ming. and IL is necessary for me to
pull the choke out in order to stop
It. What is the reason for this
condition?
A. With magnetic equipment the
ignition switch grounds the arma-
ture when on the "off'' position.
This connection prevents the cur
rent from going through the
breaker points and thereby kills the
spark. Suspect that your trouble
Is a loose connection which some
times opens instead of grounding
the circuit
Q. Is it true that in Washington
one can use hydrant instead of dis
titled water for filling batteriesf
A. This Is the practice. and prob
ably Is all right However, the only
safe method is to use distilled
water. Any metal impurities in the
water will cause a local action
that deteriorates the plates.
Q. Is II possible to adjust a car
bureter by watching the fame, and
what do the colors indicator?
A. Yes, rich mixture, one thar
needs more air or less gasoline, can
be detected by a redfame. A cor
rect mixture is Indicated by a light
blue flame hardly visible.
Q. Is there any knock or special
adjustment to make when the
brushes of q starter are changed?
A Yes. First copper brushes
must be selected because of their
low resistance. After placing the
new brushes In their respective DO
sitions a piece Of 90 sandpaper, cut
to Mt the commutator, should be
placed underneath the brushes,
with the rough side up. Draw the
sandpaper back and forth so that
new brushes will be worn down to
exactly At the commutator, thereby
decreasing the resistance of con-
tact.