Who / What / Where Game

[Catfish]

There is also a story by Roald Dahl (serving as a pilot in WW2) i think, where he describes the german attack in one of his short stories. His war stories are all worth a read b.t.w.

Will have to go home for the next one, so.. this evening (in Europe, that is)

[Catfish]

What is this?



I will not answer all questions

[Jimbuna]

A screw extractor?

[Catfish]

No.

[Jimbuna]

Off an auto?

[Catfish]

Yes.

[Jimbuna]

A thrust pin?

[Catfish]

Maybe this is the right word .. but if you mean it can be used to drive something out by force that would be wrong. It does only provide a tiny little bit of pressure.
It is a strange mechanism, I could not quite believe it when i first saw it, and I initially struggled to understand how it even worked.

[Jimbuna]

Perhaps a better description would be 'Light Force Spring Plunger With Thrust Pin'

[Catfish]

Umm ok.
But there is no thread involved.

So, what is it for?

[Aktungbby]

German car?

[Buddahaid]

I'm thinking a hydraulic lash adjuster for valve tappets but it looks to weak and weird.

[Buddahaid]

Oh wait! Is it a horn contact at the steering wheel?

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by Buddahaid

Oh wait! Is it a horn contact at the steering wheel?

^I almost expected this of you with the Mk III
Exactly, and they had it built in n numerous british cars, like e.g. th Spitfire series (where i had to replace this several times, from the '4' to the 1500).

Usually you would have a contact with a spring in the wheel, and a round copper or any conducting metal ring under it, so when you press it down against the spring load the horn will be actuated.

Not here with this british invention: you have a round transparent plastic tube, which is hexagonal on both inside ends, with a smaller round diameter in the center.
Then there are two hexagonal brass contacts, in one of those there is a braided copper band soldered to, on the other side this band is embedded in a wax or plastic, so it does not come into contact with the other hexagonal end.
Both haxagonal ends are held together by the copper band, but also apart from each other by a metal spring, which is isolated at one end with a paper 'washer', so it cannot give contact either. So the band is held taut between the hexagonal ends.

The whole mechanism is in constant contact with the steering wheel horn button and the conducting ring under the wheel, but is held apart by the spring, so their is no current flowing and the horns are off.
When you push the horn button, the two hexagonal ends are forced towards each other against the spring load, at the same time the braided copper band evades the compression, gets limp and forms a curve until it touches the surrounding conducting spring; the horn gets current.
Releasing the button tauts the band and the horns are silent again.
Both ends are hexagonal, so they cannot turn and twist against each other and finally tear the braided copper band apart.

So one end of the mechanism is constantly 'gliding' or scratching on the conductor ring, generating oxyd and abrasive dust, whaile also wearing off the surface and one end of the mechanism, lot of unnecessary wear and tear, with an absolutely complicated construction prone to failure (most of the time the copper band gives up). So after some time either the horns suddenly get off and you have no way to stop them other than unmantle the steering wheel, or cut off a cable at the horn end of the assembly - or the horns will not work at all.

Why????? I mean you have to admire what some ingenious mind has invented, but why that way ... it is so queer!
And lots of parts and workings of older british cars are made like this, alone the Jaguar E rear suspension is a chore to adjust with dozens of shims and taking it all apart for the smallest of adjustment
Maybe it were parts like that that drove owners away from the british motor industry?


Over to you

[Aktungbby]

^and to think Germany lost WWII ...from uber-engineering!!??