Evening star., 1925-04-05
BY WILLIAM ULLMAN.


How the instrument board of the
modern automobile can help the av-
erags driver obtain better results
from his machine is one Of the most
interesting developments OF present
day motoring.
Not q little attention has been di-
Tected to the instrument board by
the car designers because of the ar
tistic arrangement of the many ap-
purtenances as revealed on the new
models. These have been grouped
under glass for beauty and protec-
fion and illuminated by invisible
dash lights.
The instrument board is one OF the
first things the prospective buyer
looks at when forcing a visual i'm
preston of the new model. But this
useful layout is still the most neg
1scted feature in driving.
On the instrument board is the
whole story of the cars performance.
But knowledge of the meaning of
7he various meters and gauges Is es-
sential if the driver would know how
TO use them.
Warns of Trouble.
One of the most important features
of tho instrument board is the group
ing of the indicators so that they
can be readily compared with each
other. The use of the speedometer is
known to all who drive, but its use
in conjunction with one of the other
Instruments is generally unknown.
For example, IL the speedoneter
shows that the car is travelling at 20
miles an hour, and the ammeter
needle Is in the position where ii
would ordinarily be for a speed OF
30 miles an hour, the driver Is being
given a warning. If the oil-pressure
gauge shows a pressure that would
be customary for a higher speed all
the driver has TO do is put two and
two together and conclude that his
clutch is slipping.
Some of the newer cars have the
motometer on the instrument board,
registering the temperature of the
engine block rather than the radia-
tor. In the case just given this in
strument would also indicate trouble.
Lights on in Daytime.
How many times in the daytime have
you been told by passing motorists that
YOUR lights were on? Perhaps you were
trying to save current so that the bat
terry would have more energy to do the
YOU wished that some one would invent
= warning signal to tell a driver when
he Is needlessly using his lights.
And all the while the needle OF the
smmeter was telling you quite plainly
that there was a current drain some
where. Instead of showing charging
ra te Of say, IA, il was back to IL or u.
The ammeter tells whether the stop
light signal is operating. Every time
=. h.
mmeter needle flickers little.
The ammeter tells whether the en-
Eine is stalled or idling calmly when
one is driving in thick, noisy traffic.
Some motors are quiet that it is
difficult to tell under such conditions
whether they are running or dead. and
a mistake may be a source of embar
rassment when traffic starts again. All
this can be avoided by learning to
watch the ammeter. The needle will
flicker little so long as the engine
idles. When il stalls, the needle will
stand quietly in A slightly discharged
position.
Oil Gauge Tells story.
From the oil-pressure gauge the mo-
torist can tell just how cold the motor
is, and also what condition the oil is in.
Here, however, he may have to take
into consideration what he already
knows OF the weather, his mileage and
other conditions.
When the quality of the oil is low
that is, when it is diluted with gaso-
line that has leaked past the pistons-
the pressure gauge will not register as
high as usual. On hot day, of course,
a drop in the pressure would have TO be
taken less seriously.
Fresh oil in the crankcase will show
2 higher pressure at all times, but