Richard,
I have a rebuilt generator that does not charge. My ammeter shows a fairly big deflection into discharge when I pull the lights on, and almost re-centers when I turn the lights off. However, the needle will not move a bit into the charge side of the gauge at high rev. The battery is new and shows less than 13 volts when running at rev. I am going to replace this rebuilt generator with another from the vendor. They said it occasionally happens where one is not up to the task. My experience with these ammeters is that they do show a bit of deflection both ways when used with the stock system and generator. That may be different with your alternator but usually the ammeter generator is a good sensor of charge / discharge. Ralph
