| OCR Text |
Show Winter Months Severe on Electrical System Severe stress, even under the most favorable conditions, is Imposed upon the battery and general electrical system of a car during the winter jr months, according to a bulletin Issued by the mechanical first-aid department depart-ment of the Chicago Motor club, which contained suggestions as to how to maintain those parts so that they will operate with the highest possible de gree of efficiency. -I The records of the motor club indi cate that a goodly share of winter trouble Is caused primarily by lack of knowledge on the part of the car owner, own-er, and secondarily by the battery. Paradoxically, a battery must be ' ' kept fully charged during the cold weather, when the drain upon it, as a result of difficult starting, is greatest. If it Is not fully, or nearly fully charged", It is likely to freeze. The manner in which to keep it In such condition is to set tlie generator so it will charge at a rate between twelve and fourteen amperes when the lights are off and the car Is running at twenty-five or thirty miles per hour, and to use the starter and lights as sparingly as possible. The distributor assembly and spark plugs play a greater part in starting a motor than many car owners suspect. sus-pect. After a summer of considerable touring, It Is probable that the breaker break-er points are somewhat pitted. If so, they should be "dressed," or polished, preferably on an oilstone. The spark plugs should be checked, not only for deposits of carbon or thick, gummy oil, but for the width of the spark gap as well. If the plugs are caked with carbon or oil, it is advisable ad-visable to purchase a new set. The width of the spark gap varies with different ignition systems, but generally gener-ally the gap should be approximately the thickness of a dime. The insulation of cables and wiring should be scanned, and if it ls not in first-class condition tlie connection should be replaced by a new length. Breaks in the insulation are likely to cause short circuits and possibly set the car on fire, to say nothing of getting get-ting wet and perhaps shorting the ignition ig-nition system. |
