Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-24
STARTER TROUBLE
BLAMED ON OWNER
Leaving Spark Advanced at
Starting Is Cited Among
List of Causes.

Trouble with the starting mechan.
ism of motor cars frequently is found
to be the owners fault. according to
d. p. Cartwright of the North East
Electric Co. who presented a paper
on the subject at the Summer meet
ing of the Society of Automotive
Engineers recently. This mechanism,
the speaker asserted. is operated on
an average Of once for each mile Of
car operation by most city automo.
bile owners and therefore comes in
for much use as we'll as abuse.
Some of the causes Of trouble with
the starting mechanism are leaving
the spark advanced at starting or
re.engaging the starting motor when
the engine is rocking back. In the
former case, the starting motor often
is suddenly reversed by reverse rota.
ton of the engine crankshaft.
Tests Prevent Trouble.
Much Of the trouble with the
various electrical units of an auto
mobile is due to the owners lack of
knowledge of these units. Mr.. Cart
wright said.
Electrical equipment wears both
mechanically and electrically, the
speaker asserted. Mechanical wear is
and distributors, and can be de-
termined by ordinary mechanical
methods. Electrical wear, however.
can be detected only by the series test
lamp, the voltmeter, the ammeter, the
Wheatstone bridge, the GROWER and
the heavy-discharge test set Fewer
failures would occur if the electrical
apparatus were inspected by the
skilled electricians and tested with
the accurate instruments that consti-
tute the personnel and equipment of
the service station which SpecialiZes
in electrical maintenance.
insufficient fabrication usually de-
velops generator or ignition-unit bear.
ing trouble on the road. it was de.
clared. The battery is. however, the
is frequently neglected. When water
Is not added. the plates sulphate and
then there are no lights for the drive
home. Corrosion is permitted to form
ar insulating film on the battery posts
and the engine will not start because
the current cannot penetrate this
film to reach the starting motor and
the ignition coil.
Winter Use Harder.
The charging rate is not increased
In the Winter to compensate for the
longer hours the lights are used and
the heavier duty the starting motor
Is called upon to perform, and the
result is call for rental battery.
Another reason for rental battery
calls is the discharge of the battery
through the ignition coil when the
switch is not turned off.
Climatic conditions cause more
trouble with batteries than failures
in other electrical units. An electro.
lyte with a. specific gravity Of 1900
is very satisfactory for a temperate
climate. but would shorten the life
of the battery in tropical countries.
Most owners make the mistake of
operating the starting motor instead
of using the crank or being towed
when the battery is nearly discharged.
The large Withdrawal of current by
the starting motor reduces the bat
terry voltage to such an extent that
the voltage at the ignition coil is in
sufficient to create a firing spark.
The lower the efficiency of the start.
ing motor the more numerous will be
the emergency calls, the speaker
concluded.