IGNITION 'TROUBLES.
Page 29
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Our Driver and Mechanic Readers Send us Some Interesting Tips About Contactbreakers that Do Break.
HE writer's ignition troubles ec
eurred, far the most part, during the period when the high-tension magneto and its possibilities were just being discussed, when our worries were about evenly divided between accumulators Which mostly belied the name, tremblers that nothing could shake, and " makesand-breaks" which, well—stunk. PreSent-day tellers of motor vehicles are better off in many respects, but in none more than in this matter of ignition. Actually, our collection of drivers' lett= on this subject is a, email one, and it is importanteto note that nine out of ten ,deal with content-breaker mishaps, which fact may be of interest to magneto manufacturers. It should also interest drivers to learn that we get an ample supply of leteere suggesting the 8ubs.t,itution of a rubber block for a
broken oar:tact arm spring, and those which appear now are the last which we hall publish.
" A.B., ' of Leicester, states nothing more than the truth when he writes that a broken bell-crank lever, which occurred in connection with a lorry he was driving, is rare, It appears that he was 'driving home one evening, and was actually passing through a small villnne about five miles fromNeritieton, when the engine suddenly stopped. After making the usual formal ineestigaition of the fuel supply arrangements, and ascertaining that everyehing in that department was in apple-pie order, he turned his attention to the magneto, which happened to be an .Dieesnerin. On removing the dust cover of the Contact-breakerobserve the instinetive turning to the viiiineinble point—half of the bell-crank lever or .rocker arm fell itó his hand. Thir0-five miles from home and an impossible breakage of this kind! Naturally our reader's first thought was concerning the poessibilieiee of obtaining a enure. The only chance was thee one might be found in Nerthampton, a 'fivemile walk away. At any rate; "A.B." decided not, to bother, but to investigate the possibilitiesin the way of executing a temporary repair. It is for his ingenuity in devising a metaled, crude though it may appear, .ef remedying this unique .defect, that Ire award him the 15s. prize this week.
His expenditure was threepence, "for bobbin of strong thread, and an unknown amount to be set against damages to a quantity of cigarettes which he tipped from a tan into his pocket. Two strips of the tin, severed from the box by the aid of a paif of nail scissors, served as splints, which were bound to the broken arm by means of the thread. It is satisfactory to note that the repair was good enough, not merely to enable the lorry to be thriven home, but to keep it in commission for the .several clays which actually did elapse before a spare could be procured, a circumstance which amply justified our correspondent in his decision not t walk five miles on the off chance of being able to procure one over the counter.
As WB have hinted, letters advising the use of a solid rubber tyre, or a piece of one, to replace a broken contactbreaker spring, are not any too acceptable; they have, in fact, outstayed their welcome. The following hint from
" of Islington, finds a piece here because, for the first time on record, souse hint as to the cause of the trouble is -suggested. The platinum contact points, he states, had been allowed to wear right down, to sndh an extent, indeed, as to allow the spring to come into contact with the cams. Weer, and subsequently breakage, of the spring itself eensuetb with the lamentable result that " O.H.13:." discovered himself one evening—midnight, according to his letter— in the broad highway with a magneto which refused to function.
First of all, he states, "I removed the contact-breaker from the magneto, and extracted the pieces of broken spring. I cut, a small piece of rubber from the tyre and shaped it as shown at 1 on the accompanying sketch. I squeezed it into
place between the nether arm and the buzz bar, as indicated at 2; and, so equipped, was able to reach hortie without further trouble."
But for the fact tha we have already awarded the 15s. prize this week, we should have seriously to consider the claim of " J.N.G.," who actually effects a repair in the case of a broken contactbreaker spring without iv-sorting to his tyres. He makes use of a piece of broken spring, bending it at right angles, as shown in the sketch, so that, while one end was held by the usual spring-retaining screw, the free end bore on the back of the rocker arm and did almost as well as a complete spring.
Another driver, " of Aysgareh, who had trouble with his contact-breaker gave us rather a start. He writes, "I had to resort, to brains." We were re
assured, however, in the next sentence, in which he goes on to state that he " cut a small strip out of a solid tyre." His experience, however, was unfortunate, for this oft-tried expedient did not serve to get him home, and eventually he made a new spring from a piece of clock spring, which strikes us as the best method yet put forward, particularly as pieces of clock spring can usually be obtained even in the smallest village.
Lamps Alight.
On Saturday i April 29th, light your lamps at 8.46 m London, 9.2 in Newcastle, 8.54 in Birmingham, 9.23 in Edinburgh, 9.4 in Liverpool, 8.56 in Bristol, and 9.47 in Dublin.