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).
Engine misfiring, dynamo failure, and road performance of car 7-GOSHAWK-11.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 46\2\ Scan257 | |
| Date | 15th May 1922 | |
| R.R. (99 (800 H) (SD. 296. 15.3.17) M.P. 176549. COPY. Hotel de L'Ouest, Laval, France. May 15th. 1922. Hs.{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair} from Hy.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer} 7-GOSHAWK-11. The engine had a fit of misfiring very much like one gets if petrol feed is poor but we found that it was due to a bad connection at the low tension terminal on the distributor. The spring terminal was incorrectly fitted, the hook terminal on the wire being thinner than the length of the boss on the sliding bush on the spring terminal. It is worth while considering whether a different type of terminal would not be more reliable as a little dirt on the contact faces will easily cause a poor connection due to the spring pressure being so light. Low tension contacts need to be firmly made. On the way to Folkstone, the dynamo went out due to the commutator collapsing exactly like the ones on 5/6-Goshawk-11. I took off the dynamo and sent it back to Works from Dover. The car ran very well but is much slower than 6-Goshawk-11 due to the big heavy body. Also it is unpleasant to travel all out as the body rolls when taking bends. The car rides very nicely at low speeds but my conviction is stronger than ever that for fast travelling on anything but smooth roads, rigid springs of high rating are desirable. The car was free from rattles when we left Derby, but several small rattles are developing. The petrol consumption is about 18 M.P.G. The engine is, however, using a lot of oil but we have not yet investigated this. There does not appear to be any bad leaks and yet the oil used is at the rate of approximately 600 M.P.G. It may be due to the oil not being right, but I will write you later on this point when we have obtained more information and made further tests. Hy.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer} P.S. Send another dynamo as soon as possible. Can you adapt a C.A.V. or Lucas? Hy.{Tom Haldenby - Plant Engineer} | ||