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).
Blown fuse failure on chassis 1EX, critiquing the reliability of Lucas fuses and switches.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 183\M22\ img060 | |
| Date | 10th June 1920 | |
| To EFC. from R.{Sir Henry Royce} Copy to CJ. [STAMP] 1EX ORIGINAL [STAMP] 10 JUN 1920 [STAMP] RECEIVED [REFERENCE] 1 EX9 [REFERENCE] R13/GS/8/20. [HANDWRITTEN] X37434 RE CHASSIS 1 EX [HANDWRITTEN] X3129 X3749 [HANDWRITTEN] V.1168. X.2515 The failure on 1 EX. of ignition and Klaxon was due to a blown fuse. My experience is that the fuses as made by Lucas are hardly reliable enough, that is to say, they do not pinch the wire and make a satisfactory contact. It has long been my impression that copper is the best material for fuse wire, that the lead, tin, and zinc wires are quite unreliable, and blow when they ought not to, owing to the difficulty of maintaining the contact. I am pleased to say that the battery ignition on 1 EX. has been most satisfactory. It is the best battery ignition that I have ever had any experience of. I noticed the Lucas switch though used in the orthodox way was not making proper contact through the control circuit and the dynamo gave a very large current until the switch was wriggled about, and I succeeded in making a contact. This rather justifies our previous opinion that there is hardly flexibility enough in the contact of these switches. [HANDWRITTEN] Panel was damaged during some tests. this failure. R.{Sir Henry Royce} FAR. Should be confirmed. | ||