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).
Unreliability and potential replacement of Lucas electrical equipment, specifically dynamos and brushes.
| Identifier | Morton\M1.8\ img008 | |
| Date | 1st July 1921 | |
| To Ed.{J. L. Edwards} from R.{Sir Henry Royce} Copy to Works Committee. Copy to Ms. & EPC. ORIGINAL (5 X.4165 X.304G. FURTHER NOTES RE LUCAS ELECTRICAL EQUIPMENT TO BE READ WITH THOSE OF 1/7/21. X 4352 X 294 X 2515 X 3945 I understand the unreliability is due to the imperfect action of the automatic switch, the fuses blowing owing to the bad contact made by the carriers, the dynamos being late at cutting-in, especially when hot, the fault with the terminals (since rectified) and the fault with the rapid wear of the brushes which it is now suggested to replace. I think the Lucas attitude to be quite a reasonable one, except that we ought not to pay anything unless perhaps an increased price for dynamos of increased capacity, but this price should still leave the cost of the dynamo comparable with the cost of other dynamos if we had purchased elsewhere, and cancelled our orders with Lucas instead of patiently waiting for them to make something better. Lucas can sell any new dynamos that they have made, elsewhere, if they are satisfactory machines. Personally, I do not believe it is financially good to destroy a machine of smaller output to use the parts for re-constructing a machine of greater output. I understand that we can purchase in America a good dynamo for £10. It would therefore pay us to purchase the American dynamo and sell the present Lucas ones which have cost us about £15, instead of spending a further £7.15.0 upon them. I had not heard that the dynamo brushes supplied by Lucas were wearing badly. Apparently the ones to be supplied in future are LeCarbone electrical graphite marked E.G.O. What is the make and brand of those that have failed ? (Contd.) | ||