So heres my setup.
1968 plymouth valiant signet
225 /6 auto idle 700 rpm
dual field 78 amp alt w/ matching regulator alt is wired direct to the starter relay with a 8 ga wire.
HEI ing

I drove the car for the first time at night tonight to get dinner and while I was sitting at a stop light listen to the radio I looked down at the volt gauge and it was sitting right at 12 volts. at idle its around 12.5-13 volt off idle its right at 14 volts. while waiting for the light to change I noticed the volts where dropping so I shut off the radio with no change. It was sitting around 11.3 so I turn off the head lights and it jumped up to 12 volts. I tried bumping up the idle a little more and still the lights seem to be draining the battery while in gear with the brakes on. Any ideas?

Okay so after driving it to work and busting out the old fluke meter I found that my volt gauge is off. With everything on in gear it drops to 12.1 at the battery. Is that okay for the hei or should I change pulleys on the alt?

I don't think the pulley is the issue. I think you've got a faulty alternator, a faulty regulator, and/or faults in the wiring. 12.1 is way too low. A fully-charged "12 volt" battery will read 12.6 volts.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

I think I have a couple extra voltage regulators around here somewhere. Ill start there and if that doesnt do it ill have the alt tested. then double check the wiring. Dan how did you go about connecting all the wires from the ballast risistor? I orginally had them just connected together with a spade but found that it was causing my chargeing system to flicker. Lights were strobing off idle. Now they are soldering together and now no strobing effect. I also replace the orginal ing switch because I saw a bit of voltage drop thru the switch.

Okay so I pulled the new VR and sanded down the body for a good ground again. I installed the old VR that I had after cleaning the body of it and checks static voltage. 12.6. started the car at idle it was 13v at fast idle max voltage I saw was 14v. with full load, in gear lights, fan, stereo, brake lights on the lowest it went to after 5 mins was 12.4.

That's a bit better, but still low at idle. Where did your alternator come from?

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

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