[RPRICE]

My battery was dead after the Woodward Ave cruise. Have not had any problems before and chaulked it up to the intense heat that day; excessive fan use and fuel pump power being used at mostly idle. We boosted the car and I drove with dim lights the 3 miles back to my trailer. I thought that the alternator was working because the lights worked and the meter showed to be charging. Got back to Memphis and pulled the battery out and took it to NAPA for a replacment, as I was sure this was my problem. They charged and checked the battery and said it was fine. Put it back in the car. The meter now shows proper charging, but the needle seems to "vibrate" more and once I watched it peg -50 for a split second. So now I remove the alternator and have it checked. Checks OK, but slight bearing noise so we replace it. Now, with a fully charged battery and new alternator, the meter shows +25 at anything over 700rpms. Needle seems to still "vibrate" slightly. Took the car to NAPA this time. To question the excessive charging. At the battery, they read 13.9 amps, not the 25 on the meter, so they said the new alternator is working fine and that the "unprecise" Lucus gauge should be ignored. Now to the questions. What else could cause these conditions? Only thing left is the electronic voltage regulator. The NAPA boys said this would not have any effect on the conditions I am experiencing. Any thoughts? By the way, this is a Ford 4 wire alternator.
Thanks
Richard Price