The need of a new and effective ignition system was imperative. For years motorists had struggled with the magneto apparatus which was a prize producer of headaches and backaches. On a magneto it was not possible to run slow in high gear in heavy city traffic without risk of stalling which, when it did occur, meant hopping out of the car and cranking up. To crank a car on a magneto when the dry batteries on the auxiliary system had run down, demanded a considerable amount of endurance. It prevented the women motorists from driving alone.
The system that created many of these complications was equipped with a magneto and an auxiliary vibrating coil dry battery. The basic trouble was that it produced an insufficient amount of current. Hence the frequent stalling. What Kettering did in that long ordeal in the barn was to change from a vibrating system to a single spark which conserved the battery and produced ample electric power for ignition. The vibrators, which demanded endless tinkering every time a car was taken out for use, vanished from the spark coils. Kettering’s dictum was: “No spark outside the cylinder but a good one inside.” To prove the efficiency of the electric ignition system, Deeds, accompanied by Mrs. Deeds, drove to New York and back on one set of dry batteries, which were still not exhausted when the car arrived back in Dayton.
With the electric ignition complete, the big question was to whom it should be submitted. It was not a difficult problem once the motor manufacturing field was surveyed. At the head of the list of producers was Henry M. Leland, whose name had become synonymous with Cadillac. “Uncle Henry,” as Leland was affectionately known, was the Grand Old Man of the automobile industry. It was a tradition in the business that “if you can satisfy ‘Uncle Henry’ you can meet the highest and most exacting requirements.” He was an engineer of international reputation and the Cadillac was the apple of his eye.
As was the case with every other automobile manufacturer, Leland was fed up with the magneto ignition. When the barn product was brought to his attention he was interested. Chief Engineer Sweet of the Cadillac Company came to Dayton to investigate. Deeds and Kettering met him at the railway station and took him for a ride in Kettering’s Cadillac roadster which was equipped with the new electric ignition. They covered miles of Dayton streets and more miles of rough country roads adjacent. Then they landed Sweet safely at the station. When they tried to start up the car after his departure, the system stalled. A wire had broken in cooling off and fell apart. If the system had broken down while Sweet was aboard the car, events might have turned out differently.
A scene duplicated many times—W. A. Chryst and C. F. Kettering “trying it out” on an actual run.
When an ignition set was sent to Detroit, Leland shared Sweet’s favorable impression. Negotiations for a contract now began by correspondence. The great day came when Mr. and Mrs. Deeds and Kettering went to Detroit for the signing of the contract. Leland was immensely taken with the two eager, earnest young men who walked into his office that autumn day in 1909. The deal was threshed out in a discussion that lasted for some hours. Then a contract was signed for 5,000 ignition sets.
Now developed something of a dilemma. Deeds and Kettering had no firm name, in fact no formal business association at all. The contract therefore was made out in Deeds’ name. Deeds and Kettering started off from the Cadillac plant in a borrowed car. Soon after they got under way it was discovered that the precious contract was in Kettering’s pocket. Taking it out he said, “I don’t want the danged thing. You keep it.” With this he handed it over to Deeds. Soon he left the car and Deeds proceeded to the home of an old friend where Mrs. Deeds was anxiously awaiting the outcome of the negotiations. In his full and fruitful life Deeds was to know many precious hours. But no moment was sweeter than when he handed the contract to his devoted companion of the years with the words, “It’s signed.”
The Cadillac contract presented another problem for Deeds and Kettering because they had no plant. Their original idea in uniting for the barn project was to develop what Kettering called an “idea hatchery.” Production had never been considered. The problem was soon solved. While working during vacations for the Star Telephone Company of Ashland, Ohio, Kettering had had some dealings with the Kellogg Switch-Board and Supply Company of Chicago. He got in touch with them and they agreed to manufacture the sets.
Deeds and Kettering now had a contract, a commercial product, and a firm to make it. The next step was to organize a corporation with a striking name. Deeds suggested The Dayton Laboratories and Engineering Company. When Kettering asked Chryst what he thought of it, he got this reply: