I think my battery is dying...

...but I can't be 100% sure, as I'm too lazy to go have it tested.

Symptom: I can go out in the garage, start it up just fine, and go cruise. If I shut it down, go into a store and come back out, it doesn't want to start. I'm fairly certain it doesn't want to fire right away due to the carb probably needing to be rebuilt, but that's a different topic. After just turning over for 7-10 seconds, the battery starts dying and has to be jumped. This has happened twice, basically the last two times I drove it. The first time was Monday, which was Memorial Day, so the store was closed. Whoops. Didn't put 2 and 2 together that day. So yeah, I think it's dying.


Second question: What is my alternator gauge supposed to read anyways? Call me stupid, but right now I don't understand how to read the gauge. Goes from -40 to zero and up to +40. The needle should be close to the middle, no? Help a guy understand it, lol.



Thanks!