Ford made some improvements to the Model T during the 1915 model year, so the switch could be made from gas lights (above) to electric lights (below). The magneto coils and magnets were increased in size to handle the additional load, but you had to be a thinker to get along with the Model T lights.
The headlights were both 9 volt bulbs, wired in series, but the voltage delivered from the magneto varied with the engine speed. At low speeds the lights would be dim, and if you drove fast enough to make the lights 'blue', your lights were about to blow. This often happened to Ford drivers as they punched the clutch pedal down to low as they made a corner. The downshift would make the engine rev up suddenly, the lights would go blue, and then the world would become very dark. If you drive one of these fine machines after dark, you should definitely have a kerosene lantern with you to hang on the radiator so you can see to get home. Lacking that, have a passenger with a white shirt get out and walk ahead of you to keep you out of the ditch.
The electrical reference in Dyke's Encyclopedia is only one page, but then this was before power windows, radios, and dash lights. There wasn't much need for dash lights in your Ford, unless you had an electric starter and generator. If you had those options, which came out in 1919, you also had an ammeter. Holy Cow! Instrumentation! Click on the image to enlarge, and then save to your hard drive for future reference. Click on the T's label to see all the pages posted to date. Next time we learn how to hop up your Ford.
Ford made some improvements to the Model T during the 1915 model year, so the switch could be made from gas lights (above) to electric lights (below). The magneto coils and magnets were increased in size to handle the additional load, but you had to be a thinker to get along with the Model T lights.
The headlights were both 9 volt bulbs, wired in series, but the voltage delivered from the magneto varied with the engine speed. At low speeds the lights would be dim, and if you drove fast enough to make the lights 'blue', your lights were about to blow. This often happened to Ford drivers as they punched the clutch pedal down to low as they made a corner. The downshift would make the engine rev up suddenly, the lights would go blue, and then the world would become very dark. If you drive one of these fine machines after dark, you should definitely have a kerosene lantern with you to hang on the radiator so you can see to get home. Lacking that, have a passenger with a white shirt get out and walk ahead of you to keep you out of the ditch.
The electrical reference in Dyke's Encyclopedia is only one page, but then this was before power windows, radios, and dash lights. There wasn't much need for dash lights in your Ford, unless you had an electric starter and generator. If you had those options, which came out in 1919, you also had an ammeter. Holy Cow! Instrumentation! Click on the image to enlarge, and then save to your hard drive for future reference. Click on the T's label to see all the pages posted to date. Next time we learn how to hop up your Ford.
At low speeds the lights would be dim, and if you drove fast enough to make the lights 'blue', your lights were about to blow. Sounds like my old '60 6-volt Karmann Ghia! :-)
ReplyDeleteThose old VWs could get up to 40 mpg, and could go just about anywhere. It's embarrasing to be out with your Landcruiser in the mountains, and have an old Bug come chugging up behind you.
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