CHAPTER XLIII

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.