the voltage meter gauge in my 87 gxl is always at 16 no matter what i have running, is the gauge broken or is something not grounded right or what?

 

Hmm, ive never heard of that before, Id say check to see if your gauge is working properly. When you 1st turn the key, but dont start the car, what does it read?? Get a multimeter out and see what the output is at the alternator, its possible that its overcharging.

 

guage is probably bad, 16 volts would probably fry most of the electronics in the car.

 

you need a volt meter and test it..

 

Yes, if it's truly at 16 volts (do you have a multimeter???) then you should really get rid of that battery because it could literally explode at any second. Most likely (and HOPEFULLY) it's just your gauge in the dash, because if that this is really that high of a charge (the most it should EVER run is 14.6-.8 volts when the car is charging/running) then that this is very hot (you can tell when you touch it), get it checked immediately!