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).
Customer's complaint about battery overcharging issues and the proposal to add a voltmeter as an indicator.
| Identifier | ExFiles\Box 59\1\ Scan065 | |
| Date | 24th June 1926 guessed | |
| -2- Contd. The renewed consideration of the above arises as a result of criticisms received from one of our oldest Rolls-Royce owners - Mr. Sidney of Hampstead, who has had a number of Silver Ghosts, he now owns a Phantom and two 20's. He has had no end of trouble with quickly wearing make and break contacts, but what he is at present especially annoyed about is that there is no indication on the car as to the condition of charge of his battery, so that he very quickly blackens and burns out his lamps, he is afraid of the headlamps burning out whilst in use and he considers that we are doing very wrong indeed in not supplying either some automatic means of preventing the battery getting overcharged, or at least some indicator to tell him when the battery should be switched off from "charge". I can be fairly persuasive on these points, but Mr. Sidney remains obdurate and unconvinced, and is immediately proceeding to have a Western voltmeter fitted to his car, so that he can by pressing a button tell if the voltage of the cells in unduly high, and if so, he will switch off the charge. He came in today offering £100 if we would give him a dynamo which would not charge at such a high rate. He stated that immediately the dynamo was switched on at 30 m.p.h. the battery voltage rose enormously. It appeared useless for me to explain that this was entirely due to the fact that he had allowed his battery to get into a very high condition of charge. Personally, I am in entire sympathy with an owner having a voltmeter on the instrument board, as an indication of the state of charge, and I should like this proposal to be brought forward as one of great urgency. P.N. | ||