[turbostar]

Jocko, meter placement was critical in the ammeter days-not so critical with a voltmeter. In the old days, the ammeter would be wired in the system such that all current draws would go thru the ammeter, with the exception of the starter which drew too much current to be reflected on the gage. The ammeter would show you the "net" of the charge and draw in the system. One of the beauties of the voltmeter is that you can almost place it anywhere and get good readings. In other words if you check voltage at the alternator or the battery you will get essentially the same reading. With the readings you mentioned(10-16 volts while running), my guess would be you have a defective alternator(which has an internal regulator). Sometimes a bad battery can give some really weird problems, but I'm betting you need to replace the alternator.