Also I put in another voltage regulator to check and still got high readings on the ammeter at first start up, then smoothed out. The fuse blew twice that comes off the battery and goes to the back of the ammeter. Not sure who installed the fuse.
Your system is more hacked than I thought.
But this "high readings on the ammeter at first start up, then smoothed out." I take to mean shows charging, then goes to center. If so, this is normal. Center is neither charging nor discharging.
As far as the fuse, people install them instead of a fusible link. But a fusible link is better for this job. It allows for short term high loads. For example you can drive at night on battery alone (maybe 15 amps discharging with the lights etc) and not burn the link. But if a wire grounds out, the link will will burn pretty quick with the battery trying to send as much current as it can through the circuit. Fusible Links in Charging Systems with Ammeter
