DICTIONARY OF AUTOMOTIVE TERMS - "Fa"

F:

1. Abbreviation for "Fahrenheit."
2. Acronym for "Field" or "Field terminal"

Fabric:

Material made from textile or man-made fibres

Fabricate:

To make, usually by a relatively complex process or from several parts

Fabric body:

A simple form of lightweight bodywork in which a waterproof, cloth-backed material is stretched over a wooden framework popular around 1930 and still used later by DKW and even after WWII by Lloyd.

Fabric fatigue:

A term used with tires where the fabric degrades and results in tire cord breakdown due to repeated flexing and heat.

Fabric hood:

A British term for the fabric top of a convertible.

Fabric top:

A soft top for a convertible made from a textile (such as canvas) as opposed to vinyl

Face:

1. To shave the outer edges of a bottom bracket shell or the upper and lower ends of a head tube to make them parallel with one another and square to the tube's centerline.
2. A machinist's term that refers to removing metal from the end of a shaft or the face of a larger part, e.g., flywheel.
3. The front, visible, or working surface of a part (such as a valve) or a tool (such as a hammer).

Also See:
attachment face
bearing face
cam face
concave weld face
door face
full face helmet
grille face panel
inner attachment face
inner mounting face
mechanical face seal
open face helmet
valve face
valve seat face
weld face

Face cam:

A cam system in which the eccentrics are situated on the face of a rotating disc

Face hammer:

See:
soft face hammer

Face helmet:

See:
full face helmet
open face helmet

Facelift:

Minor styling modifications made to a car model which may be approaching the end of its useful life, intended to improve the appearance and thus boost sales with minimum cost, including such features as restyled headlights, larger tail lights, added trim, and spoilers

Facel Vega:

A vehicle brand of which the 1954-64 V-8 models are milestone cars.

Face of weld:

The exposed surface of the weld.

Face panel:

See:
grille face panel

Face seal:

See:
mechanical face seal

Facia:

A front protective panel. Also spelled "fascia."

Facing:

See:
clutch facing
hinge facing
lock facing

Fact:

Abbreviation for "factory."

Factor:

See:
casing factor
consumer factors
deadfreight factor
horsepower weight factor
horsepower-weight factor
money factor
pitting factor
safety factor

Factory adjusted:

Something that is set by the manufacturer when the vehicle was built and is not intended to be changed

Factory options:

Optional features which may be installed by the manufacturer upon request. Aftermarket options are those which are installed by a garage or consumer after the vehicle has been built and delivered to the selling dealership.

Factory primer:

A primer coat applied to new body panels in the factory for protection during storage, which in some cases has to be removed prior to painting because of paint compatibility problems

Factory racers:

Racing machines built and operated by the manufacturer

Fade:

A gradual reduction in efficiency.
Also See:
brake fade
gas fade
heat fade
lining fade
mechanical fade
water fade

Fader:

A device which adjusts the sound balance of front and rear speakers in a four-speaker layout

Fading:

1. A loss of brightness or colour in a paint finish.
2. Brake fade

Fahrenheit:

Thermometer on which the boiling point of water is 212 deg. and the freezing point is 32 deg. above zero. To convert from Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 then multiply the result by 5 and divide by 9. To convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit, multiply by 9, then divide by 5. Now add 32 to the result.

Fahrenheit scale:

On a Fahrenheit thermometer, under standard atmospheric pressure, boiling point of water is 212 degrees and freezing point is 32 degrees above zero.

Fail-safe control:

Device which opens a circuit when the sensing element loses its pressure.

Failsafe system:

A system which remains safe even when part of it fails, such as a dual-circuit brake system

Failure:

See:
adhesion failure
brake failure
intercoat adhesion failure
secondary failure

Fair:

1. To add a fairing to a body.
2. A vehicle in restorable condition needing only minor work to get all components working

Fairing:

1. A protective shell or enclosure at the front of a motorcycle which may house the headlights and signal lights. It is designed to improve the aerodynamic performance of the machine and/or provide rider comfort and protection from the elements. These range from simple Plexiglas® shields to complex, encompassing body panels.
2. The plastic shield mounted on the front of a roof rack of a car or truck which is designed to reduce wind noise and improve fuel economy.

Fairlane:

A model of automobile manufactured by Ford
Click image for books on Ford Fairlane

Fairmont:

A model of automobile manufactured by Ford
Click image for books on Ford Fairmont

Falcon:

A model of automobile manufactured by Ford
Click image for books on Ford Falcon

False air:

Any air leak that introduces unmeasured air into the intake system between the airflow meter and the intake valves is false

False neutral:

When you fail to engage gears and the transmission behaves as though it is in neutral, even though it is not

Family car:

A car suitable for transporting a family, usually a four-door sedan, hatchback, or station wagon. It is becoming more popular for families to obtain a minivan instead of a station wagon.

Fan:

1. A fan is a rotating device with curved blades like a propeller. The primary fan in a vehicle is generally located behind the radiator. Some electric fans may be placed in front of the radiator. It draws air through the radiator so that the coolant looses its heat through the fins of the radiator. It is especially needed when the vehicle is idling or moving slowly. When the vehicle moves quickly, there may be no need for the fan. In some cases, the fan is automatically disengaged. The fan may be driven by a fan belt driven by the engine, or by electricity independent of the engine itself.
2. Other fans are located throughout the vehicle to push air from one location to another, especially for heating and ventilation.
3. Radial or axial flow device used for moving or producing flow of gases.
4. The pattern emitted by a paint spray gun.

Also See:
cooling fan
heater fan
radiator fan motor
radiator fan

Fan belt:

A flexible rubber belt that connects various components in the engine compartment, i.e., alternator, water pump, emission controls, power steering pump, air conditioner compressor.

Fan blade:

A part of the fan projecting at an angle from the central hub, which draws the air through the radiator

Fan clutch:

A viscous (fluid) drive coupling device connected to the center of the fan to permit variable engine fan speeds in relation to engine speeds. The clutch engages and disengages the fan according to the engine temperature through a thermostat

Fan cooling:

A type of air cooling where a blower is responsible for transporting the amount of air required for the cooling of the engine past the cooling fins, which in turn dissipate the heat stored in them to the current of air flowing past them

Fan motor:

See:
radiator fan motor

Fanning:

The use of air pressure through a spray gun to speed up the drying of primer or paint—this is not recommended

Fan pulley:

A pulley on the hub of the radiator fan on which its driving belt runs

Farad:

Unit of electrical capacity; capacity of a condenser which, when charged with one coulomb of electricity, gives difference of potential of one volt.

Faraday experiment:

Silver chloride absorbs ammonia when cool and releases it when heated. This is basis on which some absorption refrigerators operate.

Farewell tour:

A year-long tribute or celebration for a retiring driver and his racing fans.

Farman:

A vehicle brand of which the 1925-1948 models with required application are classic car.

Farthing:

See:
penny-farthing

Fascia:

Also spelled "facia."

1. A front protective panel usually located below the bumper.
2. In Britain it is the instrument panel.

Fast:

See:
light-fast

Fastback:

A design of car where the roof gently slopes to the rear end of the car. Any automobile with a long, moderately curving, downward slope to the rear of the roof. This body style relates to an interest in streamlining and aerodynamics and has gone in and out of fashion at various times. Some (Mustangs for one) have grown quite popular. Others have tended to turn customers off. Certain fastbacks are, technically, two-door sedans or pillared coupes. Four-door fastbacks have also been produced. Many of these (such as Buick's late 1970s four-door Century sedan) lacked sales appeal. Fastbacks may or may not have a rear-opening hatch.
Also See:
two-door fastback

Fast charger:

A battery charger which can charge a battery at a rate of 40 amps or more, used by garages and battery suppliers

Fastener:

Also See:
lift-the-dot fastener
snap fastener

Fast food freezing:

Method that uses liquid nitrogen or carbon dioxide to turn fresh food into long lasting frozen food. It is often referred to as cryogenic food freezing and freeze drying.

Fast idle:

When the engine is cold, it needs to run faster to keep it from stalling. A cam on the carburetor forces the throttle open a little more when the choke is engaged.

Fast idle cam:

A cam in a carburetor which opens the throttle slightly when the choke is brought into operation, either automatically or mechanically

Fast idle screw:

A screw on a carburetor for adjusting the speed of the fast idle

Fast idle solenoid:

A solenoid operating in conjunction with an automatic choke to open the throttle slightly when the choke is in operation

Fast lane:

The outside lane (far left lane in North America, etc. or the far right lane in Britain, Australia, etc.). Also called the "passing lane"

Fathom:

A measure of length, equivalent to 6 linear feet, used for depths of water and lengths of anchor chain

Fatigue:

A condition of a material, especially a metal, causing loss of elasticity and tendency to fracture after long or repeated stress, even though the stress may be less than that which would cause failure under static conditions.
Also See:
fabric fatigue
metal fatigue

Fatigue limit:

The maximum stress that a material can endure for aninfinite number of stress cycles without breaking

Fatigue resistance:

The maximum stress that a material can endure for a given time without breaking

Fatigue strength:

The maximum stress that a material can endure for a given time without breaking

Fatigue test:

A test on a material to determine the range of stress it will stand without failing, by subjecting it to rapidly varying stresses to establish its fatigue limit

Fat load:

Trucker slang for "overload," carrying more weight than local state law allows as in "Better not be running at fat load, cause the coops are open and checking ground pressure this morning."

Fault:

A defect which is either inherent in the vehicle as built (manufacturing fault) or which occurs during running.
Also See:
intermittent fault
no fault insurance

Fault codes:

See:
trouble codes

Fault diagnosis:

The tracing of faults or error codes which can be determined by the in-built diagnostic system and an engine analyzer

Fault insurance:

See:
no fault insurance

Fault memory:

A part of the electronic control unit and of the diagnostic system that stores error codes to assist the mechanic in diagnosing problems.

Fault reader:

A device used in conjunction with the vehicle's diagnostic system, providing a read-out of status of the various components

Faying surface:

The inner mating or contacting surfaces of a joint; common area of two surfaces that are bonded together with an adhesive

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