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).
Misfiring issues caused by Ethyl petrol on sparking plugs and potential solutions for customers.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 150\1\ scan0238 | |
| Date | 4th November 1936 | |
| K1282 W/S. {Derby Works / Sales} H. {Arthur M. Hanbury - Head Complaints} from Rm. {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} Rm {William Robotham - Chief Engineer} 15/GR. {George Ratcliffe} 4.11.36. EFFECT OF ETHYL PETROL ON SPARKING PLUGS. Hd. {Mr Hayward / Mr Huddy} has handed us your H18/RH. {R. Hollingworth} 30.10.36. We believe we are correct in saying that you are running your Trials car on Ethyl and do not have sparking plug trouble to any extent. It is true, however, that if a customer runs continually under traffic conditions for a week or more and does not exceed 40 m.p.h., he is likely to get misfiring. This problem is so elusive that we have made three separate journeys to London to have the trouble demonstrated to us by Professor Dodds, and he has always failed to reproduce the slightest signs of misfiring when our representative has been with him. However, the trouble, undoubtedly, has been proved to exist under London traffic conditions. The alternatives for the customer are as follows:- (1) He can clean his sparking plugs when misfiring occurs, which will put matters right for a certain period of time. (2) He can realise that it is the way in which he is using the car that causes the trouble, and could arrange to have occasional runs at a higher speed than traffic permits. (3) He can run on Cleveland Discol, in which case it is possible he will have petrol diaphragm trouble. (4) He can run on ordinary straight petrol, or Benzol Mixture, and put up with the pinking. Rolls-Royce customers on the whole appear to rather enjoy some of their troubles. As an example, we offered a man a special petrol pump which would enable him to run on Discol instead of Ethyl to get over his misfiring trouble, and he said he did not want to use Discol. On the other hand, most rational customers we have met have accepted the fact that in the present state of sparking plug knowledge they must be prepared to clean | ||