MAKING BEST USE OF THE FORD.
Page 59
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Valuable Advice on Every Phase of Ford Transport which will Appeal to the Owner, Driver and Repairer.
479.—Some Hints on the Ignition System.
At this time of the year starting troubles manifest themselves with greater frequency than at any other season, and as the greater portion is due to faults in the ignition system, a knowledge of the more deep-seated of these will be helpful.
Apart from a direct fault' in the circuit, which can usually be quite easily diagnosed, there are one or two points where leakage of current may take place which will be sufficient to prevent the corresponding cylinder doing its full share of the work until the engine is warmed up. The importance of locating a fault of this description will be seen when it is realized that the absence of the contribution of one cylinder to the initial start in the morning will increase starting difficulties by 25 per cent.
In the following hints some of the more elusive of these faults are explained.
At all points in the wiring system the wires should, wherever possible, be separated from each other, as they soon iota their insulating properties to a sufficient extent to allow a leakage of current from wire to wire, owing to the heat of the engine to which they are subjected destroying the insulation.
All new models are now fitted with a metal dash in lieu of the old plywood one—which some think a doubtful improvement—and at no point should a wire be allowed to touch this metal dash unless it be first liberally bound with Insulating tape. It will be seen that a leakage of current from a bare wire. besides making difficult starting, will broadcast itself over the whole dash ready to be picked up by any other weak place in the wiring. On this count it should be remembered that a broken arm makes a callous but efficient tutor.
A point often missed, and which will prove to be difficult of diagnosis, lies In the standard commutator. Current will often leak through a badly fitting segment, although not in sufficient quantity to cause the well-known contimmus buzzing at the coil which is indicative of a commutator shortcircuit, and may be sufficient to prevent a full spark being given at the corresponding plug point. Oil is a conductor of electricity, if a bad one, and in the event of the locknut on the commutator easing becoming loose the film of oil which will get between will be sufficient to allow a certain leakage of valuable current, as shown in a sketch.
Since the standard commutator is able to he completely dismantled, advantage shoud be taken of this, and when trouble is at hand the segments should be removed and all traces of oil which may Live found their way between them wiped away. Care should be taken in replacing them to return each segment to its proper place and the same way round as before removal.
Another snag lies in the coil units themselves. After these have been in use for some time it will be noticed occasionally that a " field " has been created between the two lower terminals, as shown in another sketch. This is caused by road dust and minute particles of metal forming a semi-continnous track between the two points. If such a colLbe taken into a dark place and two wires from a Ford accumulator be applied to the top and bottom terminals, the surface between the two bottom terminals will be seen to be slightly illuminated through the current forming thousands of tiny arcs between each particle of dust.
It will sometimes be found that, owing to the fibrous nature of the wood, the
dust has penetrated the surface, and, cleaning being impossible, the offending unit should be discarded. The interior of the coil box and the coil units themselves being a vital part of the Ford ignition system, strict cleanliness should at all times be observed and dust which accumulates at the• bottom of the box should be removed from time to time.
It is faults of the foregoing type which frequently baffle one more than the direct fault, such as an oiled-up plug or burnt-out coils, and they are the cause of much difficult starting, since their presence is not apparent, for they do not manifest themselves when the engine has been warmed up.
480.—Some Criticisms.
Regarding par-graph 461, in our issue for November 9th, one of our readers writes to point out that there is no necessity fcr removing the steering wheel from Ls spindle in order to grease the reduction gearbox. All that has to be done is to remove the locking screw from the top of the steering gearbox and unscrew the top of the box, when the wheel and top will lift off, exposing the three pinions.
Dealing wita paragraph 459, he also points out that it is hardly worth while preserving the silencer in the manner suggested, as th price of the outer shell is only 1s. retail.
481.—Holding the Gear in Neutral.
Difficulty is sometimes experienced in locating the hand-brake lever in the neutral position. This may be overcome by cutting a shallow groove or notch in the quadrant which operates the clutch lever. This quadrant has two sections, one a fiat surface tangential with the shaft centre, the other a curved face with the axis of the shaft as its centre. The notch should be cut just where these two surfaces meet, so that when the brake is applied the adjusting stud which presses on the quadrant will drop into the notch at the neutral position.
The groove should not be more than Ye in. deep, and the edges should be slightly rounded off so that the bolt can ride out either way without difficulty.
482.—A Useful Towing Bar.
In the case of a breakdown which necessitates one vehicle being towed by another, a useful form of towing bar can be made in the manner illustrated, from an old rear radius rod off a ton truck.
On to the rear end of this a small length of ordinary roller chain should be bolted, and this chain can be fitted around the rear-axle casing of the towing vehicle, the other end of t4te rod being equipped with a, U-piece held by-nuts and with a hole through each arm to carry a bolt, which can be inserted after the U-piece has been passed over the front axle of the vehicle to be towed.