Car Parts and Accessories

Mechanical Devices

There are countless devices to protect the car and its contents, ranging from steering wheel clamps to steering column locks, electronically coded sound systems, gearlever locks and clamps, bonnet locks, electrical cut-outs, fuel cut-outs, even a removable steering wheel. Many use a mixture of mechanical and electronic components and may be activated (and deactivated) by a key, hidden switch, electronic keypad, remote control switch or combination padlock. Here are some of the more common types. (more…)

Sad to say, the world is not full of people as nice as you and me. Although we have worked hard to buy and maintain our cars, there are malcontents out there who want the same thing for nothing.

Thieves come in three types: joyriders (usually young people who ‘take the car for a burn’), pilferers (who steal luggage or dash-board stereos, often without moving the car) and professionals. None of them are particularly nice but at least with the first and second type you have a chance of getting most of your car back. (more…)

Battery Weakness

Don’t rush off to buy a new battery the first time your car declines to start. Consider the other factors which can cause an apparent battery weakness, such as loose or corroded terminals, a short circuit in the electrical system, moisture, a lack of battery water or poor grounding of the battery, starter motor or engine. (more…)

Also referred to as ‘clutch starting‘, this is a trick which only works with a manual car, and even then only if you have a couple of energetic friends or a convenient hill. (more…)

As every motorist knows, the chances that a car will refuse to start or refuse to keep going are greatest when:

• You are already running late.
• You have just had it serviced.
• It is raining.
• You are wearing your best clothes.
• You are on a Clearway, alone, at the height of summer, in peak hour, with a semi-trailer behind you and a month’s supply of frozen food in the boot. (more…)

Choosing the right tools

Building up a kit of tools for routine repairs and to deal with roadside emergencies does not involve a big initial outlay. A basic kit can cost some R50. With this as the starting point, the best way to build up a comprehensive kit is to buy extra tools as they are needed.

The quality of tools varies considerably and buying some of the cheaper ones can, in time, prove to be an expensive economy.

A cheap spanner is a typical example. The jaws will eventually spread under pressure and mutilate a nut rounding off the corners until it is impossible to shift and a nut-splitter may be needed. At the least, a badly fitting spanner can mean bruised knuckles. (more…)

Don’t let a breakdown ruin your holiday

A roadside breakdown can ruin a well-planned holiday—so it is worth taking a little time to check over your vehicle before setting out. It is obviously impossible to foresee every type of breakdown that could occur; but by following the check list you should be able to avoid some of the more common roadside problems.

Brake pads

Remove one of the rear wheels and check the thickness of the brake pads. If the pad is less than 2 mm thick, seek advice. (more…)

Certain items should be checked regularly to ensure that the vehicle continues to give satisfactory service. An ideal time to do this is when you stop to fill up with petrol. Here is a check list for you to follow:

Brake fluid

Brake fluid should be changed every two to two-and-a-half years, as it absorbs moisture from the atmosphere which lowers the boiling point of the fluid. If there is a marked drop in the fluid level this could be caused by brake pad wear or a leak. Investigate and rectify immediately. Modern transparent reservoirs make a quick visual check possible. (more…)

Car Initial test

Select neutral, switch the headlights on and then operate the starter. Note the reaction from the engine and the effects on the headlights and follow the advice given in the following paragraphs.

Faulty Car battery

If the engine does not crank or cranks slowly, coupled with appreciable dimming of the headlights, the symptoms suggest corroded battery terminals, loose battery terminal connections or a discharged or defective battery. (more…)

4. Carburettor

There are two likely reasons why petrol is present in the pipe, but not finding its way into the manifold:

• A blockage at the carburettor needle and seat, or
• A defect — probably a disconnected link — in the carburettor plunger.

To rectify these faults the carburettor will have to be dismantled. (more…)

A petrol engine provides power to propel the car by burning a mixture of petrol and air in its cylinders. The ignition system provides the electric sparks that ignite the mixture.

Each cylinder has a spark-plug with two metal points called electrodes, which project into the combustion chamber. When electricity is fed to the spark-plug at a high enough voltage, current jumps across the gap between the electrodes in the form of a spark.

Spark ignition systems are basically the same on all modern cars. (more…)

A car battery normally produces 12+ volts, but a voltage thousands of times higher is needed to produce the sparks which ignite the petrol/air mixture.

It is the coil which boosts the low voltage current from the battery, transforming it into high voltage for the spark- plugs. Depending on the type of ignition system, the coil can produce as much as 60 000 volts for the spark-plugs. (more…)

How Auto Motor Sparks are Produced

A petrol engine provides power to propel the car by burning a mixture of petrol and air in its cylinders. The ignition system provides the electric sparks that ignite the mixture.

Each cylinder has a spark-plug with two metal points called electrodes, which project into the combustion chamber. When electricity is fed to the spark-plug at a high enough voltage, current jumps across the gap between the electrodes in the form of a spark. (more…)

Current to a car’s electrical system is supplied by the battery when the engine is not running and by an alternator (on older cars a generator) when the engine is running. An alternator is fitted as it more easily supplies the current at lower speeds for the ever increasing number of electrical accessories in modern cars. (more…)

Current from the auto battery rotates the engine

The job of the starter motor is to turn the engine until it fires and can continue to run under its own power.

Most petrol engines are rotated at 250-300 rpm while starting. This needs considerable electric power, particularly in winter when the engine is cold and the oil is thick. Anyone who has started a car with a cranking handle will know how much effort is needed to turn the engine. (more…)

The generator has two weak permanent magnets inside its round casing. When current flows through the coils of wire around the magnets, they are transformed into electro magnets. An armature— mounted in a front end plate and supported in a rear plate—generally containing about 28 loops of wire, is suspended and rotates between these field coils. The rear end plate of the generator contains two brushes which, under spring loading, make contact with the commutator of the armature. (more…)

Producing Current for the Auto Electrical System

All cars have a device for generating electricity. Without this, the electrical demands could drain a fully charged battery in a matter of hours.

The device may be either a dynamo (generator) which produces direct current (DC), or an alternator, which produces alternating current (AC).

An alternator can produce more current than a dynamo of the same size, and so charge the battery when the engine is idling. This gives it an advantage in heavy traffic and permits the use of extra accessories. But a battery- is charged by DC current only, so an alternator needs a rectifier to convert AC into DC current. (more…)

Auto/Car Side and Rear Lights

Cars are required by law to have headlamps, parking lights, rear lights, a lamp to illuminate the rear number plate, and stop-lights which light up when the brakes are applied.

Parking lights are incorporated in the head-lamp housing on a few cars. But most have them either separate or mounted in the same housings as the flashing turn- indicators, with separate filaments for the parking light and the indicator in each bulb. (more…)

Trailers Wheels

The wheels of ordinary luggage trailers are a lot smaller than those of the average motor car, meaning that they do more revolutions at the same speed. But a trailer used only occasionally will not go through many sets of tyres. For practical purposes, some of the heavy-duty safari trailers carry the same size wheel and tyre as the tow-vehicle. (more…)

Auto Emergency Trouble Lights

Coping with Auto breakdowns

SIMPLE equipment, such as a torch, a tow rope and a pair of booster cables, can avoid a long delay at the roadside after a breakdown. A fire extinguisher, red warning light and warning triangle give added safety in an emergency. (more…)