well, the assumption you made Stuart is that
any reading of the needle to the left is a bad thing, and means something's wrong ... considering the low-tech nature of gauges from the 50's, it doesn't even have to mean there's actually a discharge happening, but yes, the lights will indicate the gauge is reading right [key on or off], so I'd say the normal condition of the system is about as much discharge as required by the coil, which is a miniscule draw on the battery, which will be topped up once it drops below a certain point and the regulator shunts some generator output to it
driving a 58 [with alternator] daily that reads:
- dead center when the key is off,
- about 1/3 from center to the left ["discharge"] when cranking,
- a slight bit to the right ["charge"] for a second or 2 immediately after starting,
- about 1 needle width to the left of center when driving regardless if any electrical on or off,
- about 3 needle widths toward the left at idle with lights or heater on ....
I read what he said as a gauge operating exactly correct and suggested some things to confirm that
my 57 with a generator acted just the same, never at dead center except with the key off
there's a reason that they went to volt gauges, amp gauges don't tell you much about the state of the system unless you know how the system works and are familiar with the vehicle
Bill
