R.H.A. to Meet S.M M.T. on Electrics?
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A FTER studying reports from Associa
tion areas, the R.H.A. highways and vehicles committee on Tuesday decided to seek a meeting wall the S.M.M.T. to express concern about certain commercial vehicle electrical equipment.
It is now over a year since the two bodies met to discuss operators' cornplaints on this subject and the R.H.A. committee is particularly concerned by no fewer than 10 areas reporting that, in their view, there had been no noticeable improvement in this equipment in the year or so since the last meeting with the S.M.M.T.—a meeting at which chassis manufacturers and electrical equipment makers were represented.
To judge from the area reports, the C.A.V. CA45 41-in. coaxial starter motor has been causing particular concern to road haulage operators. Members said that on vehicles with the earlier 5-in. starter, the unit which came new with the vehicle was still there, often untouched, when the vehicle was finally disposed of this, they felt, was certainly not true of the CA45. Members also reported attempts to have a BS5 starter specified on new vehicles they were ordering; but the CA45 replaced five starters of up to S in. diameter when it was introduced four or five years ago.
At the C.A.V. agents' conference in April this year the company's product controller, Mr. J. A. Cook, reported that there had been some trouble with the CA45 in its early days, sometimes due, he said, to voltage drop through use of inadequate cabling or unsuitable switches or by units associated with anti-theft devices, Thanks to the co-operation of chassis manufacturers, he claimed, this problem had been greatly reduced and the CA45 itself had been continuously modified so that its reliability was " now at least equal to the starters it replaces— and will be even better ".