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a voltmeter works like a fuel pressure gauge-but instead of measuring fluid in psi, the voltmeter measures electrical system pressure in volts. Just like a fuel pressure gauge, a voltmeter only needs to tap into a circuit; all the fuel (or electricity) does not have to detour through the gauge itself. Voltmeter installation is easy, quick, and safe: It hooks up to a fused, ignition-switched "off/on" source and does not require any modification of the circuit used to recharge the battery or any part of the alternator/regulator system. In short, the voltmeter installed at the dash will be a stand-alone circuit.

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Check that your belt is not slipping, With the engine not running, grab the alt fan and try to turn it, if you can, tighten the belt till you cant turn the alt by the fan and start up and check voltage

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sometimes , when the brushes in the alternator get worn , they will bounce at high rpm.

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Ok - does the heavy black from the alternator still go through the bulkhead at the firewall? That is a potential problem, as well as the heavy red from the battery. Either or both can corrode from moisture causing resistance which can actually burn/melt either wire. Pull both plugs and look. If they are usable, wire brush and grease the connectors and try it again. Also scrape the female connectors with a paper clip or fine jewelers screwdriver in the bulkhead they mate to.
The heavy red supplies juice to the car when the motor isn't turning the alternator to make juice, like when you start the vehicle. Once the car is running, the alternator pushes juice thru the black and back thru the heavy red to charge the battery, and power all of the circuits in the car.

One fix I've done is to totally bypass the connectors in the harness; drill two holes, use two grommets and run the heavy red and black thru them and not the bulkhead connectors.

The other thing ya got to be sure of is that the volt regulator has a real good ground, as does the negative of the battery. There should be some sort of washer or Sems bolt with a toothed washer that cuts into the sheet metal for either.

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Want to eliminate the amp gauge in my bracket car (69 Satellite) & install a volt gauge. Can I just simply unhook the wire at the stock amp gauge & splice them together or do I have to do something else?

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Any wire getting warm during normal use is seeing resistance of some sort. Put a toothed washer between the ground point and the wire lug on the negative / ground wire that will cut into the ground metal. And definitely go through the heavy black and red wires in the bulkheads. The connector ends of the male connectors can be removed from the bulkhead connector by pushing the brass connector together where it slides into the female connector. Do one at a time - push them together and pull it out of the harness. Wire brush clean, grease, bend back and snap back into the connector. If there is any melted plastic, bypass that wire going thru the bulkhead and connect it to the corresponding wire under the dash via a new hole drilled and grommeted as indicated in previous post. Do the same for the red wire. The female connector has a little tang on it that can be bent down to remove it from the firewall block connector.

Ideally the grounding point for the battery should be the frame, and not just some sheet metal in the trunk. The engine needs a ground to the frame too, and to the firewall for the under dash and voltage regulator stuff to work right.

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