ne is running at a speed corresponding to a car
speed of about 7 miles per hour, or less, the cutout should open,
indicated by the ammeter indicating several amperes discharge, in
addition to the ignition current, for an instant, and then dropping
back to the amount taken by the ignition system.

Now turn on the headlights (and whatever lamps are turned on at the
same time) and speed the engine up again. The ammeter should indicate
some charging current at engine speeds corresponding to the usual
speed at which the car is driven. If it does not, the charging current
should be increased or smaller lamps must be installed.

Troubles

The operation of the electrical system when the engine is running may
not be as described in the foregoing paragraphs. Troubles may be found
as follows:

1. Cutout does not close until engine reaches a speed in excess of 10
miles per hour. This trouble may be due to the cutout or to the
generator. If the ammeter shows a charging current of three amperes or
more as soon as it closes, the cutout is at fault. The thing to do in
such a case is to adjust the cutout. First see that the movable
armature of the cutout moves freely and does not bind at the pivot. If
no trouble is found here, the thing to do is to decrease the air gap
which exists between the stationary and movable cutout points when the
cutout is open., or to decrease the tension of the spring which tends
to keep the points open. On most cutouts there is a stop which the
cutout armature strikes when the cutout opens. By bending this stop
the air-gap between the points may be decreased. This is the
adjustment which should be made to have the cutout close earlier,
rather than to decrease the spring tension. Some cutouts have a spiral
spring attached to the cutout armature. Others have a flat spring. On
still others, the spring forms the connection between the armature and
the cutout frame. In the first two types, the spring tension may be
decreased, but wherever possible the air-gap adjustment should be made
as described.

If the cutout closes late, and only about an ampere of charging
current is indicated on the ammeter, and the cutout points are fairly
clean and smooth, the trouble is generally in the generator.

The generator troubles which are most likely to exist are:

a. Dirty commutator.
b. Dirty brush contact surface.
c. Loose brushes.
d. Brushes bearing on wrong point of commutator (to set brushes
properly, remov