The condenser is another point of possible trouble. The condenser increases the volume of the spark about twenty-five times. We often find that a very weak spark may be caused by a partial breaking down of the condenser, or occasionally to the fact that it is disconnected at the terminal. Condensers are usually hidden away so that the novice cannot locate troubles of this nature, but an excessive sparking at the interrupter or vibrator points, with a very weak spark at the plug points, indicates that the condenser is not working properly. When this sparking occurs have an expert examine the condenser for trouble.
CHAPTER XX
WHAT’S THE TROUBLE WITH MY BATTERY?
With the coming of the shorter days in the year a frequent complaint to garage man and battery or electric-system expert has to do with the battery, though in nine times out of ten the man with the kick does not know that it is the battery. He will talk about the lights failing every once in a while, or the horn refusing to honk on demand. But in the majority of cases it is the battery which is at fault.
It is more difficult to keep the battery charged at that time of the year than it is in the summer. The reason is that the sun sets earlier, and just as our electric light and gas bills mount at home, because we light the lamps earlier, so it is with the auto. The driver who obeys the law uses more current.
One complaint came from an owner who was experiencing trouble with his electric plant. The lights would not work right when he was running. Starting out there was light, but after running a short time there was trouble. The lamps were fitted with dimmers and these would not work at all times; sometimes one would light and the other fail. He went to the garage repair man and then the dimmers would not work at all. He went to an expert electrician, who looked over the battery and declared it to be all right, but on the ground that he was a battery expert and not a wiring expert he could not say why the lights would not shine and the owner had visions of stern policemen and the possibility of having to face a traffic judge, and he sought advice elsewhere.
In the meantime his troubles multiplied. The horn—electric—refused to honk at times and got so that it worked only after the car had been running half an hour or so. This was the case the writer was asked to diagnose.
While trying to determine the cause, questions asked developed that the owner was employed during most of the day and only ran his car nights, except that he was making long trips on Saturday and Sunday, and ran quite late into the night both days. During the week nights his trips were short, with numerous stops. This caused frequent use of the self-starter. He found it took longer to start the car, a natural result of the cooler weather.
THEN HE WENT TO SCHOOL TO LEARN SOME MORE ABOUT HIS CAR
These facts suggested that the battery was being starved; that is, that it was not getting enough charge to keep it at its best. There seemed to be no trouble with the wiring and the owner was told he had better have the battery charged and see if his troubles did not end. They did. Then he went to school to learn some more about his car.