is it charging?

[74challenger03]

ok 1st its a 74 challenger.I ran the jump wire from alt to s relay.Battery good,auto store said alt good,new vr and new plug on vr.Used meter and car not running battery at 13.04 car on battery at 16.0 checked ballest good,checked green wire from plug to end off alt good,checked blue wire from vr plug to alt good.My gauge shows low and when i give it gas it barely moves up.When i put the lights on it drops hard to the left.Grounds are good checked and checked it again.Was told that gauge might not read right because of the jumpper wire from alt to s relay is this right?Want to drive car but dont want to get stranded on the side of the road.Thanks to all.

[dodj]

Defintely charging if you are reading 16vdc at the battery when it is running. Is it 16v just after starting then down to about 14.4vdc after a short time? If it is staying up at 16vdc you would be overcharging. Overcharging on these cars can be as simple a fix as cleaning the bulkhead connections. The VR is 'reading' the electrical system voltage from the blue wire attached to the vr. If the bulkhead connection (or any other connection in line) is poor and drops a volt or two, the vr thinks your battery is low by a volt or two and asks the alt to put out more juice, which will over charge it.

You ammeter is not a great way to determine charge/discharge once you have the bypass wire in there. It only sees a small percentage of the alt o/p. If your meter pins left when you turn on your lights, I'm guessing you have the stock headlight wiring?

[74challenger03]

Thank you so much Dodj,you have been a blessing