From the Rolls-Royce experimental archive: a quarter of a million communications from Rolls-Royce, 1906 to 1960's. Documents from the Sir Henry Royce Memorial Foundation (SHRMF).
The performance and issues with electrical equipment, including the starter motor, headlamps, and horns.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 92\3\ scan0285 | |
| Date | 26th January 1937 guessed | |
| ( 18 ) ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT. Starter Motor. LOP. D.75435 (N° S.14. Z.14.B). The following new parts fitted - Friction Device. 1 - D.75898 End Plate. 6 - D.75897 Cork Inserts. D.75899 Arrangement. No trouble was experienced with the Starter Motor. Headlamps, Horns, & Fittings. LOP. D.75313. Existing complete to above LOP. Outside Lucas Windtone Horns replaced by new horns with modified diaphragms. Lucas WT.22 type horns mounted under bonnet supplied by Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Wst. 2-Ex.25263 Brackets. 4-Ex.25264 Pillars. Headlamps supplied by Rm{William Robotham - Chief Engineer}/Wst. Double filament bulbs fitted to Headlamps for Continental use - completed by Lucas' Representative. Footswitch. LOP. DB.{Donald Bastow - Suspensions}695. Delco Wintone Horns fitted for last 12,000 miles. All the Lucas horns failed during the running. The Delco horns failed in snow, but otherwise gave no trouble. It was found that during the characteristic silencing effect of falling and lying snow, the absence of any horns was seriously felt, a warning signal being frequently required. The headlamps were very bad for dazzle when on "dimmed" filament. This was due to the bulb holders being pushed right home, no effort having been made by the Lucas Representative to focus them or check their dazzling qualities. The trouble was aggravated by poor design of the form of the lamp bulb, causing an image of the dimmed filament near the focus of the lamp. The illumination when dimmed was inadequate in spite of the dazzling, partly due to the use of 24 watt filament which are not sufficient. The lamps were replaced by French lamps complying with the "code de la{L. A. Archer} route" on grounds of safety. The footswitch gave no trouble. The horn button sounded loud whether "loud" or "soft" was pressed during all the latter half of the running. Formerly, it frequently blew soft when loud was pressed. It also rattles. (contd) Handwritten text: WST. A very bad record for all Lucas equipment - | ||