Evening star., 1924-06-29
No. 5.-Stopping the Leaks.

Smith had just paid for a new bat
terry and was. therefore. in a recep-
tive frame of mind for advice as to
how to run the car more economically.
His repair man had informed him
that the untimely end of the battery
was no fault of the article itself, but
it did not seem logical to him that
the trouble could have been the re-
suit of neglect.
Smith had prevented corrosion of
the battery posts by smearing on a
little vaseline now and then. He had
examined the battery case occasion
ally to see that the supports were
neither too tight nor too loose. And
sss for 9ns soad hsae found
for criticism. He attended to the
battery faithfully.
But even the best of motorists are
tricked by troubles which originate
age in an accumulative way; Smith
had been taking some long drives and
did not notice that between times
when he examined the battery the
water in the cells was boiling off.
OvercharginE the Battery.
A lot of motorists worry too much
over this matter of overheating the
denced by the number of drivers who
keep their headlights burning when
touring. They represent one extreme,
while Smith, who did not know that
a battery might be ruined through
overcharging, represents the other.
What possibly neither extreme knows
is that if the generator OF the car is
operating properly the battery Will
be able automatically to maintain an
even course between discharge and
overchdrge.
The generator does this by means
of its third brush, a brush which in
riding the commutator In certain
position automatically wastes all the
charging current over a certain limit.
This limit can be changed to meet
the particular requirements or the
driver A physician. for example,
needs all the charging the generator
will furnish. because he makes short
trips around town and uses the start
er constantly. The average car, how
ever, is delivered with the generator
adjusted so that the maximum cur
rent is generated at about twenty
miles an hour.
Use Starter and Horn.
With conditions normal, as I ex-
planned to Smith, occasional use of
the starter and very frequent use of
the horn (Which is better for many
reasons than burning headlights in
the daytime) will serve to keep the
lights are kept burning and the am
meter registers zero while touring,
the driver may regret IT later on
when he has need of the battery to
operate the starter and finds 1t has
no reserve of current.
But Smith wanted to know how 1t
was his generator got out of order.
That's a question for your re-
pair man to answer" I replied What
you want to know is how to tell
hen nf
ing upon you. In your case there
were several ways. You might have
noticed that the ammeter was regis
tering more than usual. With this
as a clue, you should have felt the
battery posts. If they were hot you
should have put more water in the
cells and then used the starter, the
horn and the lights generously. The
battery might have been only tenn
porarily overcharged. but If 1t con-
tinued this way you should then have
gone to a repair shop and had your
generator attended to-"
you would think they'd equip cars
with some device that would tell
driver when his cells were going dry"
Smith suggested.
Device Reveals Trouble.
'There is just such an accessory
on the market" 1 informed him. And
like the motometer, which tells you
wrong, it is designed to nip in the
bud one of the many leaks which
are so unnecessary and SO costly.
There was time when cars had
very little equipment, but the man
ufacturers have seen the importance
Of accessories. Oil pressure gauges,
for instance. have saved many an
engine from ruination. And the am
meter is Indispensable. The speed
ometer has become such an integral
part of the instrument board that
very few motorists think of 1t as
having any use other than to show
them how fast they are going. But
just try to drive in the mountains at