MORE TROUBLE
“You may have your self-starting 6-, 8-, or 12-cylinder cars if you
want them, but give me a four-cylinder motor with a crank on the front
end for mine. I’ll get there ahead of you nine times out of ten.”
This was the boast of a chauffeur of a big car, who called at the
school to inquire about some action of the motor which he did not
understand. His self-starter would not start. A few simple tests
narrowed the trouble to the self-starter control, and it was found in
the switch, which had become dirty. From repeated arcing the spring
had become heated and lost its temper and finally no contact was made,
or so little that it would not supply current to start the starter.
Which shows that it is a good thing to keep the temper, even in a
self-starter switch spring.
This is only one instance where added conveniences have brought new
troubles to the motorist. The self-starter has made it possible for
many, notably women, to drive cars, who before could not because
they were not able to crank the engine. Adding cylinders has made
smoother riding cars, which drive easier as well. The greater number of
cylinders permits of a much quicker getaway in traffic. It allows the
motor to be run at a much lower speed without shifting the gears. The
motor has more power and the cars are better hill climbers; there is a
better distribution of the same amount of power.
But this has made more work and worry for the chauffeur and mechanic,
in that, instead of having eight valves to grind in, he may have as
many as twenty-four, and if the double-valve idea is carried far enough
he might have as many as forty-eight. In arranging the cylinders
to procure a more even torque, in some instances it has been found
necessary to locate the valves in positions where they are not readily
accessible. In some types it is necessary almost to dismantle the
engine, and in others the valves may be reached to remove them only by
removing the mudguard.
The self-starter, while undoubtedly a great convenience, has made
it necessary to take care of the battery regularly, and to keep
the generator and motor commutators in condition; has multiplied
the wiring—has added hundreds of wires to the car—and its numerous
regulators and other instruments are bound to need adjusting
occasionally. The extra care and the unusual troubles give the
chauffeur a lot more to worry about.
The electric lights are undoubtedly brighter and better than kerosene
or acetylene installation, but they will give trouble occasionally and
the average man understands more about filling a lamp with oil than
he does about locating troubles in electric circuits. Then there are
electric warmers, electric heaters for passenger and driver, electric
cigar lighter, limousine lights, and electric horns, which make
additional wires until the traditional Philadelphia lawyer would be
totally inadequate to unravel the tangle.
Suppose the ignition goes wrong and the battery seems to be all right
and no cause of trouble can be found in the magneto and its wires, and
the chauffeur is in a pickle. Along comes Mr. Man-Who-Knows and finds
that the trouble is a short circuit in a lighting installation which
impaired the ignition so that the cylinders would not fire, or fired
irregularly.
The old cars did not have generators and motors; but the driver now
must know how to sandpaper commutators and undercut the insulation
of commutators, which is an electrical engineer’s job; and he must
be wise enough to know that these things are necessary because there
is sparking at the commutator, and the generator is not charging the
battery as it should, and the motor is not starting the engine as it
ought. This, of course, is because the brushes are overriding the
commutators when the insulation is not undercut, and the contact period
is shortened, and perhaps some of the contacts are skipped altogether
because the high speed carries the brushes over without touching the
commutator.
Then, he must know, for instance, that when the lights dim while the
engine is going at low speed, it is because the reverse current cut-out
is out of adjustment and it requires a considerable discharge from the
battery into the generator in order to make the cut-out operate, when
the lights will become bright again.
Also, he must know, when the volt or ammeter needle becomes erratic,
sometimes showing a big charge or a little charge or no charge at
all and then comes to normal again, that he has a loose connection
somewhere or the voltage regulator is not working properly.
When he presses the button of the electric horn and it does not sound,
but does work right after he has kicked or pounded it, he ought to know
why his rage started it working. It was simply that the brush stuck
upon a dead contact point of the commutator, due to a dead armature
coil, and when he jammed the horn it moved the commutator until a live
contact point was against the brush and the motor started to work.
There was a time when the manufacturer pointed with pride to the fact
that there were no complications on his car. There was nothing on the
dash but the ignition switch, with one wire leading to the magneto.
This followed a period when the dash had been filled up gradually with
all sorts of devices. Ways were found to do away with them.
Now there are hundreds of wires and pipes tacked on to the dash, and
the other side of the dash fronting the driver is filled with dials and
gauges and switches almost without number. These all add to the comfort
of the motorist, but in the same proportion they add to the worries of
the driver. He pays the price of the comforts in added worries. Owners
also find that these added conveniences have given demand for added
technical knowledge.