Correct!
The shunt bypasses part of the current around the ammeter. Since the older meters were designed to be used with low-current output charging systems, all they really serve to indicate with an alternator-equipped system is whether the charging system is working, not the actual output. In the days of 25 amp full-current generators, putting the whole charge current through the meter was not an issue. Of course, back then, the highest current draw accessory was a cigarette lighter!
Jerry


"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!