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Start with the battery freshly charged. Measuring across the battery terminals with the engine off, you should read about 12.5 volts.
Run the motor. At idle, if you have a generator, you should still mesure the same voltage as before across the battery terminals. As you increase engine speed slightly, the voltage should rise. It should stabilize at 14 volts or so as you pass 1500 RPM and not go higher as speed increases further.
If voltage does not increase, or if you have to really rev the engine to get it to increase, the generator and/or voltage regulator are not working correctly.
If you have an alternator, you should see 14+ volts at any engine speed. Voltages and RPMs are approximate, but you get the idea.
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