Charging System Will Not Work Under A Load

[billybronco1]

I typically only take short rides around town 10-15 miles. I have not been putting the battery tender on after every trip. As this car is new to me I'm trying to figure out it quirks. I starts instantly when cold but a little harder when hot. The other day I was afraid it would not start as the battery sounded real low when hot. Yes, I drive with fog light on for my day time running lights. The amp gauge always shows neg when anything is on even at a higher rpm. So I put my battery tender on and because its only 1.25 amps it took two days for it to completely charge again - something aint right.

So today I played with the generator third brush adjustment. It really didn't seem to make any change, I moved it about 1/4" each way. With nothing on it starts at 6.5 volts and goes as high as 8.5 volts at say 1000 rpm. Once I put the lights on it will not go above 6.15 volts no matter how high the rpm.

So there is no voltage regulator to speak of like one I would recognize today. Is that what the "generator cut out" is for or is there something else to look at? What other test can I do to see why the system can not handle a load?