Just back from the VTR National so I'm a few days behind the flow here...
Carl wrote: One spring seems stretched
>more than the other, yet the stretched one is the one that has tension. The
>other is slack. Any hints?
By chance I was just reviewing some old 6-Tech articles by Len
Renkenberger, one of which pointed out this is indeed the normal condition.
>One last thing while I'm here. My new points that have only a couple of
>hours of running time on them are already showing slight pitting. The two
>contacts don't seem to be parallel.
If they're not parallel, just replace them. They're too cheap to ditz
around with. The condensor is responsible for preventing premature pitting,
and that comes in the tuneup kit too. Also cheap and easy to try.
Re the thread on jumpers:
Even the best jumper cables have only a _tiny_ contact area where the teeth
meet the battery terminal or engine block, inadequate to carry starting
current. At a VTR tech session last weekend, former Lucas service manager
Jack Baugh said that four-cylinders are the worst case for starters because
of the infrequent firings (vs. a 6, 8 or 12-cyl), and that 350 amps can be
required by a cold engine! Look in your local electrical code for the size
conductor required to carry that amount of current! In the McGraw-Hill
Standard Handbook for Electrical Engineers I get AWG 4/0, a conductor of
1/4 inch diameter and 0.17 square inches area. Your starter lug has that
much contact area, but no jumper cable clip does. Less area = more heat
dissipated at the connection due to resistance. Lots less area = melted
jumpers. YMMV, but it's definitely bad practice.
That said, I'd try it anyway if it meant being mobile or not. :-)
--
Gary Schneider, Nicolet Instrument Technologies
phone: 608-276-6172, Fax: 608-273-5061, Internet: gschneid@nicmad.nicolet.com
|