I recently removed the alternator to fit one of those shiny chrome pulley&fan kits. Also added chrome brackets. It all seemed to go well but now it appears to not be charging the car. I drove it on saturday night to a friends house and when I got there (after 15 minutes of driving with the lights seeming to get dimmer and the idle getting rough) it wouldnt start, barely even turn. I got home Via a jump start and 10 minutes of charging time. Since bought a battery charger and it took 5 hours to fill the battery up at 10amps charging current.

So how do I test things to know whats at fault? could it be the voltage regulator? It seems I had dim lights and less than perfect ignition before I messed with the alternator. The ammeter in the dash wont seem to work even when I remove the yellow and black shunt lead from the solenoid. As soon as i remove the yellow and black lead from the solenoid the car is without power altogether. My wiring diagram is incomplete and Im not very good at reading them anyway.

When I run the engine the battery voltage reads 13V which is what it reads when the engine is not running. So it feels like its not charging.

any ideas? will Autozone test stuff for me?

Phil