The battery terminal on the regulator will be hot all the time, ignition on or off. It will read battery voltage when the engine is not running, and almost the same voltatge as the Armature terminal on the generator after the cutout relay points close. If you attach a low-reading voltmeter (0-2V.) from the armature terminal of the regulator to the Bat. terminal, you will be able to read the voltage drop across the cutout relay points. (Engine running) It should be less than 1/10 volt. If you're losing as much as 1/2 volt or more across the cutout, the excess voltage will try to charge the battery through the idiot light, causing it to glow slightly. It's really just an annoyance, as it won't keep the battery from being charged. I've seen the problem solved by using a slightly higher candlepower bulb in the idiot light, so the small current can flow through the filament without making it glow. The real "no charge" indication will work just as well with the bigger bulb, if you get an actual failure. Normal charging voltage against a fully charged battery should be about 14 to 14.5 volts. With a very low battery, the charging voltage can drop as low as 13 volts, with very high current flow (35+ amps). As the battery builds up, the charge current will drop to less than 10 amps, and the voltage will go above 14. It's really difficult to evaluate a charging system unless you're monitoring voltage and current at the same time.
Jerry
