Charging problem

[32Ford3w]

I have read some of the post on checking battery not charging. My meter reads 12.5 volts at new battery but after I start cart my meter reads 1. pulled off green wire off starter still reads 1. put new regulator on, meter still reads 1. My golf cart is a 1990 E-Z-GO gas Marathon GX444 2 cycle. checked wiring
diagram all looks good. any suggestion.

[cart around]

Try a different meter.

[32Ford3w]

I know the meter is good. I should have said the meter peg out. looks like voltage starts to go up 13 plus volts then meter goes to 1.

[cart around]

Let's look at this in a logical way.
You start off at 12.5 volts static, and then the meter goes to 1 when it's running.
Does the voltage really drop to 1? I say no, because the cart wouldn't be running if it did.

The next logical conclusion is a faulty reading.
A meter set on resistance will read 1 to show infinity. (An open circuit).
A meter going to 1 while set on DC volts is not something I am familiar with.

I'm assuming that you are set on 20 vdc, and I'm assuming that you are still connected directly to the battery. The only thing I can suggest is to turn the meter up another setting.

This is a really weird issue, so all of the basics have to be covered first.

[32Ford3w]

Tested meter on my car 12.65 volts, started car meter reads 14.2volts.
on Cart battery voltage reads 12.48 at 20 vdc on meter, start cart meter jumps to 1 on left side of meter, meter on 200vdc meter rises lets say to 48 then 124 then to 1, on 1k on meter same thing meter rises from 12 volts to reading 1 on meters left side. over charging?

[cart around]

Ok, I can see the meter is working properly on your car. I did a little research, and confirmed that a 1 reading for DC volts indicates that the voltage is higher than the set range.
Here. https://sciencing.com/measure-vdc-8716979.html
This is a little quote.
"Turn the digital multimeter selector knob to the 20-volt position. Typical multimeters have selective voltage settings at 200 millivolts, 2 volts, 20 volts, 200 volts and 600 volts. If you select a voltage setting that is too low, the meter will typically display the digit 1. If you select a voltage setting that is too high, the meter will typically display a single whole number value, but no decimal values."

That has me wondering if the voltage really is 48-124, or 4.8-12.4

I'm usually pretty good with DC circuits. This one has me stumped. There are only so many windings in there, and a certain RPM make it possible for the generator to only put out a certain max voltage. I believe right around 20 volts.

When you pulled the green wire from the voltage regulator, did you ground it to the frame?
I managed to pull these two pages from an 88 manual. It shows how to check your field coils for resistance, and the voltage regulator for amperage.

I think we are going to need some input from others to figure out what is going on here. I still wouldn't mind seeing what another meter does.

[32Ford3w]

Thanks for the help. You last suggestion was the answer. BAD meter. different meter gave reading of 12.48 at battery, then when engine started 16.2 volts.