Amp meter shows overcharging

Duster731, your condition sounds normal to me. When you crank the car over, you're using a large draw (probably the single biggest draw) on the battery and not replenishing the system until the car starts. Once the car starts the system is energized and the voltage regulator will draw a charge for the battery and increase the amperage on the meter. If you have started it normally, the draw will be short lived and level off to it's usual position on the guage, slightly overcharging. If you had a hard time starting the car, like after winter storage or sitting for a while, the meter will stay on the high side of charge longer!!

Sport360...I recently had your problem, and it turned out to be a broken insulator on one of the field terminals inside the alternator. I totally discounted this as a possibility until another FABO member explained the it and lo and behold, a simple alternator change fixed the problem. I had an extra alternator to throw on just to check, but you could take yours to the auto parts store and have it checked before buying anything!!

Midlifecuda...I would suspect your voltage regulator also, and if you had an extra you could easily swap it to see if it fixes your problem. If you don't have an extra and have the $$$ you should have an extra lying around just in case anyway. It may not be the regulator, and if it acts like Sport360's, you could have the same problem as him. Electrical problems arise on original low milage cars maybe more often than driven cars, and a thorough check of your system including ground contact cleanups may be in order!!! Good luck you all, I just finished going through some of this myself!!! Geof