On my winter car, the battery is getting run down over night. I put a meter in between the + post of the battery and cable. I pulled all the fuses one by one, and it still indicated a draw. One of my friends had a past experience with the regulator shorting out internally. It has an externally regulated alternator. My regulator was old STANDARD part, so I replaced it ($12 American) figuring it would be a wise idea anyways. I then decided to run the engine and check voltages. I had 3.5v at the field terminal of the alternator. Is this normal? I didn't think there should be any voltage there at all, being that it will eventually find itself grounded. Am I confused or is this a bad alternator?