Page:Dorothy Levitt - The Woman and the Car.pdf/105

 set too closely together. If you get a good spark with the points in a certain position it is a good plan to insert the blade of a small penknife before finally replacing the plug, making a mark on the knife where it was inserted. On a future occasion this will be found useful, as if the knife is again inserted between the points of a new plug and the points either opened or closed, to meet the marked portion of the blade, the correct adjustment will at once be arrived at.

To test battery.—It is necessary to do this periodically, as if the battery is not showing a sufficient number of amperes the car will run badly. The test is made with an ammeter (provision for which has been made in the list of spares), the positive points making contact with those corresponding on the battery, the amperage being registered on a small dial. It should always show four or over. When it gets below this point it is advisable to carry a spare battery, as a stop on the road through a battery giving out is annoying, and a battery cannot be procured at every repairer's.