| OCR Text |
Show PROPER CARE OF MOTOR BATTERY Corroded Terminals Are Frequently Fre-quently Source of Trouble, Says Prof. Brokaw. ROW OF CURRENT RETARDED After Coirosloe Has Formed Best Way to Get Rid of It Is to Scraps the Terminals Until There Is Bright Lead Finish. Corroded terminals ' are the . chief source of battery trouble, according to n. Clifford Iirokaw, technical director direc-tor of the West Side Y. M. G. A. Automobile Auto-mobile schools. He explains that occasionally the self-starter will not work while the lights, horn and lgnl tlon 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 tuny he 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 terminals until there Is a bright lead finish. Wnshlng the terminals ter-minals with ammonia or some other ' alkaline solution will neutralize any acid that may be present and prevent Corrosion. When such washing Is done, care should be taken that none of this solution gets Into the battery. "After the terminals have been scraped and the parts assembled, care should he taken to see that the terminals ter-minals make contact for the full area of their surface. A firm and full contact con-tact Is required to supply the amount of current for the starting motor, gome motorists coat he terminals with vaseline or other grease to prevent pre-vent the acid from coming In contact with the Joint. Lights Burn Out Entirely. "If the corrosion becomes too great, or If the contact from any other rea son becomes poor, the lights are apt to flare up to excessive brightness, and If the contact Is so poor thot 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 moat systems. This is because the generator which charges the battery Is designed to deliver sufficient cur rent to charge the battery at low speed, and when the engine Is speeded speed-ed up It will deliver more thnn Is necessary. nec-essary. The system of regulating the voltage In most cases Is such that the battery plays an Important part In keeping the voltage from rising to n point where it will burn out the llfihts and damage other parts. "Usually ahout the only attention a buttery requires Is to keep'lhe plntes covered with an electrolyte by adding dlMtlllcd water. Water containing minerals mljrlit danmse the buttery or at least Interfere with Its proper bp tlon." |
