Produced by George Davis, Mark Posey and Richard Allain
THE AUTOMOBILE
STORAGE BATTERY
ITS CARE AND REPAIR
------------------------------------------------------------------------
RADIO BATTERIES, FARM LIGHTING BATTERIES
========================================================================
A practical book for the repairman. Gives in nontechnical language,
the theory, construction, operation, manufacture, maintenance, and
repair of the lead-acid battery used on the automobile. Describes at
length all subjects which help the repairman build up a successful
battery repair business. Also contains sections on radio and farm
lighting batteries.
BY
O. A. WITTE
Chief Engineer, American Bureau of Engineering, Inc.
========================================================================
Third Edition
Completely Revised and Enlarged
Fourth Impression
Published 1922 by
THE AMERICAN BUREAU OF ENGINEERING, INC. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, U. S. A.
Copyright, 1918, 1919, 1920, and 1922, by
American Bureau of Engineering, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
========================================================================
Entered at Stationers' Hall,
London, England.
First Impression April, 1918.
Second Impression December, 1919.
Third Impression October, 1920.
Fourth Impression September, 1922.
========================================================================
Preface
=======
Many books have been written on Storage Batteries used in stationary
work, as in electric power stations. The storage battery, as used on
the modern gasoline car, however, is subjected to service which is
radically different from that of the battery in stationary work. It is
true that the chemical actions are the same in all lead-acid storage
batteries, but the design, construction, and operation of the starting
and lighting battery, the radio battery, and the farm lighting battery
are unique, and require a special description.
Many books have been written on Storage Batteries used in stationary
work, as in electric power stations. The storage battery, as used on
the modern gasoline car, however, is subjected to service which is
radically different from that of the battery in stationary work. It is
true that the chemical actions are the same in all lead-acid storage
batteries, but the design, construction, and operation of the starting
and lighting battery, the radio battery, and the farm lighting battery
are unique, and require a special description.
This book therefore refers only to the lead-acid type of starting and
lighting battery used on the modern gasoline Automobile, the batteries
used with Radio sets, and the batteries used with Farm Lighting
Plants. It is divided into two sections. The first section covers the
theory, design, operating conditions, and care of the battery.
The second section will be especially valuable to the battery
repairman. All the instructions given have been in actual use for
years, and represent the accumulated experiences of the most
up-to-date battery repair shops in the United States.
The first edition of this book met with a most pleasing reception from
both repairmen and battery manufacturers. It was written to fill the
need for a complete treatise on the Automobile Storage Battery for the
use of battery repairmen. The rapid sale of the book, and the letters
of appreciation from those who read it, proved that such a need
existed.
The automobile battery business is a growing one, and one in which new
designs and processes are continually developed, and in preparing the
second and third editions, this has been kept in mind. Some of the
chapters have been entirely rewritten, and new chapters have been
added to bring the text up-to-date. Old methods have been discarded,
and new ones described. A section on Farm lighting Batteries has been
added, as the automobile battery man should familiarize himself with
such batteries, and be able to repair them. A section on Radio
batteries has also been added.
Special thanks are due those who offered their cooperation in the
preparation and revision of the book. Mr. George M. Howard of the
Electric Storage Battery Co., and Mr. C. L. Merrill of the U. S. Light
& Heat Corporation very kindly gave many helpful suggestions. They
also prepared special articles which have been incorporated in the
book. Mr. Henry E. Peers consulted with the author and gave much
valuable assistance. Mr. Lawrence Pearson of the Philadelphia Battery
Co., Mr. F. S. Armstrong of the Vesta Accumulator Co., Messrs. P. L.
Rittenhouse, E. C. Hicks and W. C. Brooks of the Prest-O-Lite Co., Mr.
D. M. Simpson of the General Lead Batteries Co., Mr. R. D. Mowray and
Mr. C. R. Story of the Universal Battery Co., Mr. H. A. Harvey of the
U. S. Light and Heat Corporation, Mr. E. B. Welsh of the Westinghouse
Union Battery Co., Mr. S. E. Baldwin of the Willard Storage Battery
Co., Mr. H. H. Ketcham of the United Y. M. C. A. Schools, and Messrs.
Guttenberger and Steger of the American Eveready Works also rendered
much valuable assistance.
The Chapter on Business Methods was prepared by Mr. G. W. Hafner.
O. A. WITTE,
Chief Engineer, American Bureau of Engineering, Inc.
September, 1922
========================================================================
Contents
--------
1. INTRODUCTORY
Gasoline and electricity have made possible the modern automobile.
Steps in development of electrical system of automobile. Sources of
electricity on the automobile.
2. BATTERIES IN GENERAL
The Simple Battery, or Voltaic Cell. Chemical Actions which Cause a
Cell to Produce Electricity. Difference between Primary and Secondary,
or Storage Cells. A Storage Battery Does Not "Store" Electricity.
Parts Required to Make a Storage Battery.
3. MANUFACTURE OF STORAGE BATTERIES
Principal Parts of a "Starting and Lighting" Battery. Types of Plates
Used. Molding the Plate Grids. Trimming the Grids. Mixing Pastes.
Applying Pastes to the Plate Grids. Hardening the Paste. Forming the
Plates. Types of Separators. Manufacture of Separators. Manufacture of
Electrolyte. Composition and Manufacture of Jars. Types of Cell
Covers. Single and Double Covers. Covers Using Sealing Compound Around
the Cell Posts. Covers Using Lead Bushings Around the Cell Posts. The
Prest-O-Lite Peened Post Seal. Batteries Using Sealing Nuts Around
Cell Posts. Construction of Vent Tubes. Exide and U. S. L. Vent Tube
Design. Vent Plugs, or Caps. Manufacture of the Battery Case.
Assembling and Sealing the Battery. Terminal Connections. Preparing
the Completed Battery for "Wet" Shipment. Preparing the Completed
Battery for "Dry" Shipment. "Home-Made" Batteries.
4. CHEMICAL CHANGES IN THE BATTERY
Chemical Changes in the Battery. Plante's Work on the Storage Battery.
Faure, or Pasted Plates. How Battery Produces Electricity. Chemical
Actions of Charge and Discharge. Relations Between Chemical Actions
and Electricity.
5. WHAT TAKES PLACE DURING DISCHARGE
What a "Discharge" Consists of. Voltage Changes During Discharge. Why
the Discharge Is Stopped When the Cell Voltage Has Dropped to 1.7 on
Continuous Discharge. Why a Battery May Safely be Discharged to a
Lower Voltage Than 1.7 Volts per Cell at High Rates of Discharge. Why
Battery Voltage, Measured on "Open Circuit" is of Little Value.
Changes in the Density of the Electrolyte. Why Specific Gravity
Readings of the Electrolyte Show the State of Charge of a Cell.
Conditions Which Make Specific Gravity Readings Unreliable. Why the
Specific Gravity of the Electrolyte Falls During Discharge. Why the
Discharge of a Battery Is Stopped When the Specific Gravity Has
Dropped to 1.150. Chemical Changes at the Negative Plates During
Discharge. Chemical Changes at the Positive Plates During Discharge.
6. WHAT TAKES PLACE DURING CHARGE
Voltage Changes During Charge. Voltage of a Fully Charged Cell.
Changes in the Density of the Electrolyte During Charge. Changes at
the Negative Plates During Charge. Changes at the Positive Plates
During Charge.
7. CAPACITY OF STORAGE BATTERIES
Definition of Capacity. Factors Upon Which the Capacity of a Battery
Depend. How the Area of the Plate Surfaces Affects the Capacity. How
the Quantity, Arrangement, and Porosity of the Active Materials Affect
the Capacity. How the Quantity and Strength of the Electrolyte Affect
the Capacity. Why Too Much Electrolyte Injures a Battery. Why the
Proportions of Acid and Water in the Electrolyte Must Be Correct if
Specific Gravity Readings Are to Be Reliable.
8. INTERNAL RESISTANCE
Effect of Internal Resistance. Resistance of Grids. Resistance of
Electrolyte. Resistance of Active Materials.
9. CARE OF BATTERY ON THE CAR
Care of Battery Box. How to Clean the Battery. How to Prevent
Corrosion. Correct Battery Cable Length. Inspection of Battery to
Determine Level of Electrolyte. How to Add Water to Replace
Evaporation. When Water Should Be Added. How Electrolyte Is Lost.
Danger from Adding Acid Instead of Water. Effect of Adding Too Much
Water. When Specific Gravity Readings Should Be Taken. What the
Various Specific Gravity Readings Indicate. Construction of a Syringe
Hydrometer. How to Take Specific Gravity Readings. Why Specific
Gravity Readings Should Not Be Taken Soon After Adding Water to
Replace Evaporation. Troubles Indicated by Specific Gravity Readings.
How to Make Sure That Sections of a Multiple-Section Battery Receive
the Same Charging Current. How Temperature Affects Specific Gravity
Readings. How to Make Temperature Corrections in Specific Gravity
Readings. Battery Operating Temperatures. Effect of Low and High
Temperatures. Troubles Indicated by High Temperatures. Damage Caused
by Allowing Electrolyte to Fall Below Tops of Plates. I-low to Prevent
Freezing. Care of Battery When Not in Use. "Dope" or "Patent"
Electrolyte, or Battery Solutions.
10. STORAGE BATTERY TROUBLES
Normal and Injurious Sulphation.-- How Injurious Sulphate Forms. Why An
Idle Battery Becomes Sulphated. Why Sulphated Plates Must Be Charged
at a Low Rate. How Over discharge Causes Sulphation. How Starvation
Causes Sulphation. How Sulphate Results from Electrolyte Being Below
Tops of Plates. How Impurities Cause Sulphation. How Sulphation
Results from Adding Acid Instead of Water to Replace Evaporation. Why
Adding Acid Causes Specific Gravity Readings to Be Unreliable. How
Overheating Causes Sulphation.
Buckling.-How Overdischarge Causes Buckling. How Continued Operation
with Battery in a Discharged Condition Causes Buckling. I-low Charging
at High Rates Causes Buckling, How Non-Uniform Distribution of Current
Over the Plates Causes Buckling. How Defective Grid Alloy Causes
Buckling.
Shedding, or Loss of Active Material.-- Normal Shedding. How Excessive
Charging Rate, or Overcharging Causes Shedding. How Charging Sulphated
Plates at Too High a Rate Causes Shedding. How Charging Only a Portion
of the Plate Causes Shedding. How Freezing Causes Shedding. How
Overdischarge Causes Loose Active Material. How Buckling Causes Loose
Active Material.
Impurities.-- Impurities Which Cause Only Self-Discharge. Impurities
Which Attack the Plates. How to Remove Impurities. Corroded Grids.-How
Impurities Cause Corroded Grids. How Sulphation Causes Corroded Grids.
How High Temperatures Cause Corroded Grids. How High Specific Gravity
Causes Corroded Grids. How Age Causes Corroded Grids.
Negatives.-- How Age and Heat Cause Granulated Negatives. Heating of
Charged Negatives When Exposed to the Air. Negatives with Very Hard
Active Material. Bulged Negatives. Negatives with Soft, Mushy, Active
Material. Negatives with Rough Surfaces. Blistered Negatives.
Positives.-- Frozen Positives. Rotten, Disintegrated Positives. Buckled
Positives. Positives Which Have Lost Considerable Active Material.
Positives with Soft Active Material. Positives with Hard, Shiny Active
Material. Plates Which Have Been Charged in the Wrong Direction.
Separator Troubles.-- Separators Not Properly Expanded Before
Installation. Improperly Treated Separators. Rotten and Carbonized
Separators. Separators with Clogged Pores. Separators with Edges
Chiseled Off.
Jar Troubles.-- Jars Damaged by Rough Handling. Jars Damaged by Battery
Being Loose. Jars Damaged by Weights Placed on Top of Battery. Jars
Damaged by Freezing of Electrolyte. Jars Damaged by Improperly Trimmed
Plate Groups. Improperly Made Jars. Jars Damaged by Explosions in Cell.
Battery Case Troubles.-- Ends of Case Bulged Out. Rotted Case.
Troubles with Connectors and Terminals.--Corroded and Loose Connectors
and Terminals.
Electrolyte Troubles.-- Low Gravity. High Gravity. Low Level. High
Level. Specific Gravity Does Not Rise During Charge. "Milky"
Electrolyte. Foaming of Electrolyte.
General Battery Troubles.-- Open Circuits. Battery Discharged. Dead
Cells. Battery Will Not Charge. Loss of Capacity. Loss of Charge in an
Idle Battery.
11. SHOP EQUIPMENT
List of Tools and Equipment Required by Repair Shop. Equipment Needed
for Opening Batteries. Equipment for Lead Burning. Equipment for
General Work on Cell Connectors and Terminals. Equipment for Work on
Cases. Tools and Equipment for General Work. Stock. Special Tools.
Charging Equipment. Wiring Diagrams for Charging Resistances and
Charging Circuits. Motor-Generator Sets. Suggestions on Care of
Motor-Generator Sets. Operating the Charging Circuits. Constant
Current Charging. Constant Potential Charging. The Tungar Rectifier.
Principle of Operation of Tungar Rectifier. The Two Ampere Tungar. The
One Battery Tungar. The Two. Battery Tungar. The Four Battery Tungar.
The Ten Battery Tangar. The Twenty Battery Tungar. Table of Tungar
Rectifiers. Installation and Operation of Tungar Rectifier. The
Mercury Are Rectifier. Mechanical Rectifiers. The Stahl Rectifier.
Other Charging Equipment. The Charging Bench. Illustrations and
Working Drawings of Charging Benches. Illustrations and Working
Drawings of Work Benches. Illustrations and Working Drawings of Sink
and Wash Tanks. Lead Burning Outfits. Equipment for Handling Sealing
Compound. Shelving and Racks. Working Drawings of Receiving Racks,
Racks for Repaired Batteries, Racks for New Batteries, Racks for
Rental Batteries, Racks for Batteries in Dry Storage, Racks for
Batteries in "Wet" Storage. Working Drawings of Stock Bins. Working
Drawings for Battery Steamer Bench. Description of Battery Steamer.
Plate Burning Rack. Battery Terminal Tongs. Lead Burning Collars. Post
Builders. Moulds for Casting Lead Parts. Link Combination Mould. Cell
Connector Mould. Production Type Strap Mould. Screw Mould. Battery
Turntable. Separator Cutter. Plate Press. Battery Carrier. Battery
Truck. Cadmium Test Set and How to Make the Test. Paraffine Dip Pot.
Wooden Boxes for Battery Parts. Acid Car boys. Drawing Acid from
Carboys. Shop Layouts. Floor Grating. Seven Architects' Drawings of
Shop Layouts. The Shop Floor. Shop Light.
12. GENERAL SHOP INSTRUCTIONS
Complete instructions for giving a bench charge. Instructions for
Burning Cell Connectors and Terminals. Burning Plates to Strap and
Posts. Post Building. Extending Plate Lugs. Moulding Lead Parts.
Handling and Mixing Acid. Putting New Batteries Into Service (Exide,
Vesta, Philadelphia, Willard, Westinghouse, Prest-O-Lite). Installing
Battery on Car. Wet and Dry Storage of Batteries. Age Codes (Exide,
Philadelphia, Prest-O-Lite, Titan, U.S.L., Vesta, Westinghouse,
Willard). Rental Batteries. Terminals for Rental Batteries. Marking
Chapter Page Rental Batteries. Keeping a Record of Rental Batteries.
General Rental Policy. Radio Batteries. Principles of Audion Bulb for
Radio. Vesta Radio Batteries. Westinghouse Radio Batteries. Willard
Radio Batteries. Universal Radio Batteries. Exide Radio Batteries.
Philadelphia Radio Batteries. U.S.L. Radio Batteries. Prest-O-Lite
Radio Batteries. "Dry" Storage Batteries. Discharge Tests. 15 Seconds
High Rate Discharge Test. 20 Minutes Starting Ability Discharge Test.
"Cycling" Discharge Tests. Discharge Apparatus. Packing Batteries for
Shipping. Safety Precautions for the Repairman. Testing the Electrical
System of a Car. Complete Rules and Instructions for Quickly Testing,
Starting and Lighting System to Protect Battery. Adjusting Generator
Outputs. How and When to Adjust Charging Rate. Re-insulating the
Battery. Testing and Filling Service. Service Records. Illustrations
of Repair Service Record Card. Rental Battery Stock Card.
13. BUSINESS METHODS
Purchasing Methods. Stock Records. The Use and Abuse of Credit. Proper
Bookkeeping Records. Daily Exhibit Record. Statistical and Comparative
Record.
14. WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE BATTERY?
"Service." Calling and Delivering Repaired Batteries. How to Diagnose
Batteries That Come In. Tests on Incoming Batteries. General
Inspection of Incoming Batteries. Operation Tests for Incoming
Batteries. Battery Trouble Charts. Causes of Low Gravity or Low
Voltage. Causes of Unequal Gravity Readings. Causes of High Gravity.
Causes of Low Electrolyte. How to Determine When Battery May Be Left
on Car. How to Determine When Battery Must Be Removed from Car. How to
Determine When It Is Unnecessary to Open a Battery. How to Determine
When Battery Must Be Opened.
15. REBUILDING THE BATTERY
How to Open a Battery.-- Cleaning Outside of Battery Before Opening.
Drilling and Removing Connectors and Terminals. Removing the Sealing
Compound by Steam, Hot Water, Hot Putty Knife, Lead Burning Flame, and
Gasoline Torch. Lifting Plates Out of Jars. Draining Plates. Removing
Covers. Scraping Sealing Compound from the Covers. Scraping Sealing
Compound from Inside of Jars.
What Must Be Done with the Opened Battery?-- Making a Preliminary
Examination of Plates. When to Put in New Plates. When Old Plates May
Be Used Again. What to Do with the Separators. Find the Cause of Every
Trouble. Eliminating "Shorts." Preliminary Charge After Eliminating
Shorts. Washing and Pressing Negatives. Washing Positives. Burning on
New Plates. Testing Jars for Cracks and Holes. Removing Defective
Jars. Repairing the Case.
Reassembling the Elements.-- Putting in Now Separators. Putting
Elements Into Jars. Filling Jars with Electrolyte. Putting Chapter
Page on the Covers. Sealing the Covers. Burning on the Connectors and
Terminals. Marking the Repaired Battery. Cleaning and Painting the
Case. Charging the Rebuilt Battery. Testing.
16. SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS
Exide Batteries.-- Types. Type Numbers. Methods of Holding Jars in
Case. Opening Exide Batteries. Work on Plates, Separators, Jars, and
Case. Putting Plates in Jars. Filling Jars with Electrolyte. Sealing
Covers. Putting Cells in Case. Burning on the Cell Connectors.
Charging After Repairing. Tables of Exide Batteries.
U.S.L. Batteries.-- Old and New. U.S.L. Covers. Special Repair
Instructions. Tables of U.S.L. Batteries.
Prest-O-Lite Batteries.-- Old and New Prest-O-Lite Cover Constructions.
The "Peened" Post Seal. Special Tools for Work on Prest-O-Lite
Batteries. The Peening Press. Removing Covers. Rebuilding Posts.
Locking, or "Peening" the Posts. Precautions in Post Locking
Operations. Tables of Prest-0-Lite Batteries.
Philadelphia Diamond Grid Batteries.-- Old and New Types. The
Philadelphia "Rubber-Lockt" Cover Seal. Philadelphia Rubber Case
Batteries. The Philadelphia Separator. Special Repair Instructions.
Eveready Batteries.-- Why the Eveready Batteries Are Called
"Non-Sulphating" Batteries. Description of Parts of Eveready Battery.
Special Repair Instructions.
Vesta Batteries.-- Old and New Vesta Isolators. The Vesta Type "D"
Battery. The Vesta Type "DJ" Battery. Vesta Separators. The Vesta Post
Seal. Special Repair Instructions for Old and New Isolators and Post
Seal.
Westinghouse Batteries.-- The Westinghouse Post Seal. Westinghouse
Plates. Types of Westinghouse Batteries. Type "A" Batteries. Type "B"
Batteries. Type "C" Batteries. Type "E" Batteries. Type "H" Batteries.
Type "J" Batteries. Type "0" Batteries. Type "F" Batteries.
Willard Batteries.-- Double and Single Cover Batteries. Batteries with
Sealing Compound Post Seal. Batteries with Lead Inserts in Cover Post
Holes. Batteries with Rubber Casket Post Seal. Special Repair
Instructions for Work on the Different Types of Post Seal
Constructions. Willard Threaded Rubber Separators.
Universal Batteries.-- Types. Construction Features. Putting New
Universal Batteries Into Service.
Titan Batteries.-- The Titan Grid. The Titan Post Seal.
17. FARM LIGHTING BATTERIES
Comparison of Operating Conditions of Farm Lighting Batteries with
Automobile Batteries. Jars for Farm Lighting Batteries. Separators.
Electrolyte. Charging Equipment. Relation of the Automobile Battery
Man to the Farm Lighting Plant. Rules Governing the Selection of a
Farm Lighting Plant. Location and Wiring of Farm Lighting Plant.
Installation. Care of Plant in Service. Care of Battery. Charging Farm
Lighting Batteries. Rules Governing Discharging of Farm Lighting
Batteries. Troubles Found in Farm Lighting Batteries. Inspection and
Tests on Farm Lighting Batteries. Description of Prest-O-Lite Farm
Lighting Battery. Rebuilding Prest-O-Lite Farm Lighting Batteries.
Description of Exide Farm Lighting Batteries. The Delco-Light Battery.
Rebuilding and Repairing Exide Farm Lighting Batteries. Westinghouse
Farm Lighting Batteries. Willard Farm Lighting Batteries.
DEFINITIONS
Condensed Dictionary of Words and Terms Used in Battery Work.
GENERAL INDEX
A VISIT TO THE FACTORY
Photographs showing factory processes.
BUYERS' INDEX. (Omitted.)
For the Convenience of Our Readers We Have Prepared a List of
Companies from Whom Battery Shop Equipment May Be Obtained.
ADVERTISEMENTS (Omitted. Outdated; high bandwidth)
========================================================================
Section I
---------
Working Principles, Manufacture,
Maintenance, Diseases,
and Remedies
========================================================================
The Automobile Storage Battery
========================================================================
CHAPTER 1.
INTRODUCTORY.
Gasoline and electricity have made possible the modern automobile.
Each has its work to do in the operation of the car, and if either
fails to perform its duties, the car cannot move. The action of the
gasoline, and the mechanisms that control it are comparatively simple,
and easily understood, because gasoline is something definite which we
can see and feel, and which can be weighed, or measured in gallons.
Electricity, on the other hand, is invisible, cannot be poured into
cans or tanks, has no odor, and, therefore, nobody knows just what it
is. We can only study the effects of electricity, and the wires,
coils, and similar apparatus in which it is present. It is for this
reason that an air of mystery surrounds electrical things, especially
to the man who has not made a special study of the subject.
Without electricity, there would be no gasoline engine, because
gasoline itself cannot cause the engine to operate. It is only when
the electrical spark explodes or "ignites" the mixture of gasoline and
air which has been drawn into the engine cylinders that the engine
develops power. Thus an electrical ignition system has always been an
essential part of every gasoline automobile.
The first step in the use of electricity on the automobile, in
addition to the ignition system, consisted in the installation of an
electric lighting system to replace the inconvenient oil or gas lamps
which were satisfactory as far as the light they gave was concerned,
but which had the disadvantage of requiring the driver to leave his
seat, and light each lamp separately, often in a strong wind or rain
which consumed many matches, time, and frequently spoiled his temper
for the remainder of the evening. Electric lamps have none of these
disadvantages. They can be controlled from the driver's seat, can be
turned on or off by merely turning or pushing a switch-button, are not
affected by wind or rain, do not smoke up the lenses, and do not send
a stream of unpleasant odors back to the passengers.
The apparatus used to supply the electricity for the lamps consisted
of a generator, or a "storage" battery, or both. The generator alone
had the disadvantage that the lamps could be used only while the
engine was running. The battery, on the other hand, furnished light at
all times, but had to be removed from the car frequently, and
"charged." With both the generator and battery, the lights could be
turned on whether the engine was running or not, and, furthermore, it
was no longer necessary to remove the battery to "charge," or put new
life into it. With a generator and storage battery, moreover, a
reliable source of electricity for ignition was provided, and so we
find dry batteries and magnetos being discarded in a great many
automobiles and "battery ignition" systems substituted.
The development of electric lighting systems increased the popularity
of the automobile, but the motor car still had a great
drawback-cranking. Owing to the peculiar features of a gasoline
engine, it must first be put in motion by some external power before
it will begin to operate under its own power. This made it necessary
for the driver to "crank" the engine, or start it moving, by means of
a handle attached to the engine shaft. Cranking a large engine is
difficult, especially if it is cold, and often results in tired
muscles, and soiled clothes and tempers. It also made it impossible
for the average woman to drive a car because she did not have the
strength necessary to "crank" an engine.
The next step in the perfection of the automobile was naturally the
development of an automatic device to crank the engine, and thus make
the driving of a car a pleasure rather than a task. We find,
therefore, that in 1912, "self-starters" began to be used. These were
not all electrical, some used tanks of compressed air, others
acetylene, and various mechanical devices, such as the spring
starters. The electrical starters, however, proved their superiority
immediately, and filled such a long felt want that all the various
makes of automobiles now have electric starters. The present day motor
car, therefore, uses gasoline for the engine only, but uses
electricity for ignition, starting, lighting, for the horn, cigar
lighters, hand warmers on the steering wheel, gasoline vaporizers, and
even for shifting speed changing gears, and for the brakes.
On any car that uses an electric lighting and starting system, there
are two sources of electricity, the generator and the battery, These
must furnish the power for the starting, or "cranking" motor, the
ignition, the lights, the horn, and the other devices. The demands
made upon the generator are comparatively light and simple, and no
severe work is done by it. The battery, on the other hand is called
upon to give a much more severe service, that of furnishing the power
to crank the engine. It must also perform all the duties of the
generator when the engine is not running, since a generator must be in
motion in order to produce electricity.
A generator is made of iron, copper, carbon, and insulation. These are
all solid substances which can easily be built in any size or shape,
and which undergo very little change as parts of the generator. The
battery is made mainly of lead, lead compounds, water and sulphuric
acid. Here we have liquids as well as solids, which produce
electricity by changes in their composition, resulting in complicated
chemical as well as electrical actions.
[Fig. 1 The Battery]
The battery is, because of its construction and performance, a much
abused, neglected piece of apparatus which is but partly understood,
even by many electrical experts, for to understand it thoroughly
requires a study of chemistry as well as of electricity. Knowledge of
the construction and action of a storage battery is not enough to make
anyone an expert battery man. He must also know how to regulate the
operating conditions so as to obtain the best service from the
battery, and he must be able to make complete repairs on any battery
no matter what its condition may be.
========================================================================