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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).
Letter responding to a customer's report on car issues including dynamo failure and drive rattle.

Identifier  ExFiles\Box 42\2\  Scan102
Date  22th February 1923
  
Hsl/LG22.2.23.

Expl: Office,
Messrs.Rolls-Royce Ltd.,
Derby.
England.

Feb. 22nd. 1923.

Mr. Maddocks,
Grand Hotel,
Le CanadelHenry Royce's French residence,
Par le Lavandou,
Var-France.

Dear Maddocks,

We have received your letter today with the report of the behaviour of the car on the run down.

We cannot understand the dynamo failure because special care was supposed to have been given to this dynamo. We had a similar trouble to what you describe when the car was first taken to W.W. after it had been painted. During the last time the car was at the Works, the generator was overhauled by the Electrical Dept. with the knowledge of what had gone wrong and they fitted to it a new commutator, all new brushes and re-adjusted it.
Seeing that a similar failure has occurred twice on the same machine, it may be something else wrong.
We should like to know whether you have been able to get the dynamo to function properly without sparking.
The latest dynamo brushes are being obtained without the copper sheathing in order that they will be a better fit. The copper sheathing has been proved to be unnecessary. We will send a set of the latest brushes.

With regard to the platinum points working loose on the contact breaker arm. We have had cases of this on production cars and all the points, instead of being riveted are now being brazed into the arm. We are sending one of these latest contact breaker arms to Le CanadelHenry Royce's French residence.

With regard to the dynamo drive rattle. If you have an opportunity we should like you to slightly increase the strength of the springs on the brake blocks which operate at the front end of the generator drive. These springs should have a compression of 1/8th. of an inch when the cover is screwed down. The actual point we are interested in is whether the rattle is coming from the magneto or generator drive or whether it is coming from the slack between the generator drive gear wheel and the cam wheel. The small brake should overcome any rattles which occur between the cam wheel and the generator wheel whereas it will not effect the rattles which occur in the magneto drive.

contd:-
  
  


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