Diagnosing and attempting to repair fuel pump failures on a vehicle.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 11\5\ 05-page087 | |
| Date | 30th March 1934 guessed | |
| -2- Re. Failures. We had the first sign of failure after finishing the run down the Towcester straight. We did not get any more until our run from Boulogne. After leaving Chartres the air temp. had risen, and on the long sustained runs we ran right into trouble. The single pump was clattering away the whole time, and the engine was spluttering along at about 30 M.P.H. We stopped and upon testing the delivery of the pumps found the single pump doing nothing. We disconnected it and got along as good without it. Upon arriving at Chateauroux(French test region) I gave Bowering all the information. The following day Bowering did nothing else but investigate the failure of the pumps, and no restriction was placed upon him in any way. He attributed the failure of the single pump to be due to the valve chamber being the same size as for two pumps, and made alterations to the base. My views were that the single pump being above the double pump was being choked in delivery, and I had an expansion chamber made so that the delivery of the three pumps would have a better chance. Upon starting running again we had the same symptoms as we had coming, so we decided to move the pumps and I gave Bowering the work to do, as he being the expert on pumps, could fit them up his own way. The only interference was that Bowering wanted to fit the pumps, filter, and petrol tap at one go under the scuttle - I said no, we will try the pumps first - and I maintain that was the correct thing to do to obtain the reason of the trouble. The other thing I suggested was that it would be better for the pumps to have the single pump at the bottom and the double at the top, assuming that the double pump could deal better with vapour rising than the single pump. This scheme failed as reported, the trouble being located to the metal filter and pipe lines absorbing the heat. I gave Bowering the job of moving the filter. This was fitted along with the pumps under the scuttle. The following morning Pattinson and Rose had to return as the petrol system was worse than ever, and they could not keep going at more than 20 M.P.H. I tested out the pumps and found only one working, the other two had warmed up considerably. Heat was not the cause as it was a cold morning. I informed Bowering of the trouble and he came down, the pump unit was dismantled from the scuttle and each pump tried; all worked satisfactorily not connected to the pipe lines. Bowering then assumed that the fault lay in bad earthing. I did not agree, and as the whole of the previous day had been taken up fitting the filter etc. I was fed up and took the matter in hand. I had | ||
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).