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Show PROPER CARE OF MOTOR BATTERY Corroded Terminals Are Frequently Fre-quently Source of Trouble, Says Prof. Brokaw. FLOW OF CURRENT RETARDED After Corrosion Has Formed Best Way to Get Rid of It Is to Scrape the Terminals Until There la Bright Lead Finish. Corroded terminals are the chief source of battery trouble, according to H. Clifford Brokaw, technical director direc-tor of the West Side Y. M. C. A. Automobile Auto-mobile schools. He explains that occasionally the self-starter wHl not work while the lights, horn and Igni tion operate smoothly. "This condition may be traced," he adds, "to corroded or poorly fitting battery terminals which will only allow al-low a sufficient amount of current to pass to operate the lights and horn. As the starting motor takes a larger amount of current, the resistance may be great enough to prevent it from operating. To Remove Corrosion. "Corrosion is formed by the action of the electrolyte or acid In the battery. bat-tery. After it has formed, the most satisfactory way to get rid of it Is to scrape the terminnls until there Is a bright lead finish. Washing the terminals ter-minals with ammonia or some other alkaline solution will neutralize any acid that may be present and prevent corrosion. W7hen such washing is done, care Bhould be taken that none of this solution gets Into the battery. "After the terminals have been scraped and the parts assembled, care should be takon to see that the terminals ter-minals make contact for the full area of their surface. A Arm and full contact con-tact Is required to supply the amount of current for the starting motor. Some motorists coat tfhe terminals with vaseline or other grease to prevent pre-vent the acid from coming In contact with the Joint. Lights Burn Out Entirely. "t! the corrosion becomes too great, or If the contact from any other reason rea-son becomes poor, the lights are apt to flare up to excessive brightness, and If the contact Is so poor that no current cur-rent can pass or If the wire should become disconnected from the battery, bat-tery, the lights will burn out entirely In most systems. TIiIb is because the generator which charges the battery Is designed to deliver sufficient current cur-rent to charge the battery at low-speed, low-speed, and when the engine is speeded speed-ed up it will deliver more than is necessary. nec-essary. The system of regulating the voltage In most cases Is such that the battery plRys an Important part In keeping the voltage from rising to a point wkere It will burn out the lights and damage other parts. "Usually about the only attention a battery requires Is to keep the plates covered with an electrolyte by adding distilled water. Water containing minerals might damage the battery or at least interfere with its proper action." |