OCR Text |
Show MEANS OF STARTING CAR ON LOW BATTERY Method of Short Circuiting to Reduce Re-duce Resistance. If one cell of the storage battery Is out of commission, the starter cannot be operated and the engine may be difficult to start because the Internal resistance of the dead cell may be so great that It does not allow sufficient current to pass to produce a spark at the plugs when the engine is cranked by hand. The resistance of the dead cell may be overcome and the full current cur-rent of the remaining cells made available avail-able If, after the cell at fault Is located, lo-cated, a wrench or ether piece of metal Is held firmly In contact with the posts of the cell. After the engine starts, the wrench may be removed because the generator will supply the current for ignition If the engine Is kept running fast enough. Care should be taken to use this expedient ex-pedient only on a cell that Is dead, as an active cell would be Injured by the short circuit. The dead cell may be quickly found by using a hydrometer hydro-meter or voltmeter. If the current Is still insufficient to produce a satisfactory spark and the engine does not start, the resistance in the circuit to the spark coll may be further reduced by placing a shunt around the resistance coll usually found on the top of spark colls. This shunt may be of copper wire and need not be securely connected since it is advisable to remove It, or at least disconnect dis-connect one end after the engine starts. |