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).
Cold-weather testing of a Phantom II starter motor, identifying congealed oil as the cause of failure.
| Identifier | WestWitteringFiles\V\2January1931-April1931\ Scan068 | |
| Date | 21th March 1931 | |
| ORIGINAL To R.{Sir Henry Royce} From Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/GWH.{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux} c. to Sg.{Arthur F. Sidgreaves - MD} Wor.{Arthur Wormald - General Works Manager} c. to E.{Mr Elliott - Chief Engineer} Da.{Bernard Day - Chassis Design} c. to By.{R.W. Bailey - Chief Engineer} Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/CML.1/KT.21.3.31. X6079 RE. PHANTOM II. STARTER MOTOR. To confirm our recent failures during the frosty weather, we took the starter motor off 27-EX. and placed it in the refrigerator of the Ice Co. for 2 hours. We then tried it on Mr. Brock's testing rig. The pinion would not engage until six attempts had been made with the push button. It was then very sluggish, both engaging and returning. We had the motor dismantled and all the excess oil removed leaving a film of oil only on the bearing parts. It was again placed in the refrigerator for 2 hours. The result of this test was the pinion although sluggish engaged the first time of application. The second and third improved rapidly. This proved that the failure reported previously was due to congealed oil on the bearings and in the damper cylinder. We propose to try self lubricating bearings to overcome the effects of the air temperatures. Hs{Lord Ernest Hives - Chair}/GWH.{George W. Hancock - Head Chateauroux} | ||