snip

It kicks
left slightly (or did) when the starter solenoid engaged, then with the
engine running, would show around 5amps. No marks to indicate which side
was which at all.

When you say, "The needle goes left when on charge...", is that when
charging from an external battery charger, or when charging from an
engine mounted alternator? If the latter, then your alternator could be
faulty and not generating enough output to meet demand.

No, when the engine is running it went to the left - which seemed wrong to
me.


But you also say that it deflected left when the solenoid engaged, which
would be correct for a left-side discharge indication, as the solenoid would
be drawing current - i.e. discharging the battery - at this time, as the
engine would not be running, and the alternator would not be attempting to
charge the battery. On cars that I have owned that have had an ammeter
fitted, the usual sequence of events would be a small deflection to the left
as the ignition was switched on, followed by a much larger deflection to the
left when the solenoid pulled in for starting, followed by a jump to the
right of 10 or more amps once the engine was running, fairly quickly
dropping back to 2 to 5 amps maintenance charge.

All seems very odd, if you ask me ... :-|

Arfa