having your voltage that high is not good for anything, especially bulbs and your battery, if yours runs at 14.6 after the battery is charged thats too high too. over 15 is way too high.

Given that the increase in voltage is not huge, and no codes are being thrown, then I'd pretty much agree with you, my car is 14.4-14.6v any time the car is running, and above 1,000 RPM'* I think it is, below that I am pretty sure the alternator stops adding voltage, which is why lights usually dim at stop lights, or sitting idling..

I would also state that 14.5 to 15v can be considered normal in most computerized cars.
Even the ignitions system takes a good draw from the battery, then add lights etc..etc!
That being said, to the OP You may want to load test your battery and use a hydrometer to obtain specific gravity reading on each cell. A fully charged battery should be 1.30 + if battery is fully charged & in top shape.
I manually charged my battery today at 4 amps with an intelligent charger, and even after driving for 45 minutes today, the charger ran for 45 minutes before battery was topped up to 1.32 (specific gravity reading).

A weaker battery will require more volts and amps, especially under load. My voltage with a (really) full 800CCA battery will drop to 14.3 then for a while..until battery is back to a lower specific gravity (weaker condition) and then charge at 14.8 again....it has to try to keep up with demands. One thing is for sure you will have a stronger battery, that will last longer and the alt wont have to work as hard if your battery is in top shape and passes a real load test. It took me a while to find a shop with a $4000 Midtronics Starter, Alternator, and Battery tester with a print out.
http://www.midtronics.com/shop/produ...grated-printer

I kept an eye on my voltage gauge over the weekend. My gauge is at 15 to 15.1 all the time. I am not going to mess with it.

I am so picky about keeping my battery topped up with a good charge in winter.
Fact at 32F (freezing) your battery looses 35% of it cranking power and requires more to start your cold engine. So I tend to use a 4 amp "Intelligent" charger plugged into 120volts but I have a portable power pack and inverter set up that I can use when 120 volt plug in is not handy. Believe me your battery will appreciate a good manual charging once a week in winter. Normal top up time 45 minutes at 4 amps.

Hey Softride
I see that you do extreem maintenance on your battery. How many years do you get out of your batteries? Also what brand do you think is the best battery?

Thanks
Ken

Ken I generally get 7 years or so on 800CCA lead acid batteries, before I retire them.
I go by the fall load test each year. For instance if my 800CCA battery tests out to provide only 550CCA (after Charging) I know it is weaker and will not handle the cold well. The tester midtronics was mentioned above.
The best battery by far (and expensive) is an Odyssey (AGM absorb glass matt) and Sears also has an AGM made by Odyssey (platinum series?) Always look for the most CCA you can squeeze under the hood. In my case the Park Ave came with the Delco 800CCA and I keep the distilled water topped up and frequently use a charger on it. Delco batteries are ok but nothing will beat an AGM. Forget about the Optima they just dont last that long..fails load test way too early.
Link to Odyssey http://www.odysseybattery.com/batteries.html
The PC-1500-34-78 is 810 CCA but will give you 5 seconds at a whopping 1500 amps!!! (talk about starting power) you should get 10 years + one one of these if you keep it up.

i can get 10 yrs out of regular interstate batteries doing nothing but cleaning the terminals. my bonny had one in it when i bought it over ten years ago i just had to replace it. it wasnt even fully dead just starting to sound a little weak and i dont want my wife to be stranded anywhere so i replaced it.

http://www.interstatebatteries.com/c...594-2147384906

I just started using a battery maintainer on my 96' PA, it is somewhat of a band-aid for a parasitic drain I am getting that is killing my batteries in months, sometimes weeks, of course this car is not driven daily, maybe 2-3 times a month.
I suspect my rectifier bridge, but since not on topic I wont discuss that anymore, until I can track down/fix my issue I've found this battery maintainer works excellent, it is small, but for one battery it works excellent, I have my quick disconnect installed, so it only takes a minute to raise my hood and disconnect it.
Here is the one I have, you can spend more and get a water-proof version, but if water is not a worry this one will work fine.


I have always heard good things about thee batteries, whenever I replace my Walmart battery :o I may get a Mega-Tron Plus 78 Automotive Battery 85 months 800 CCA, if not that I like the idea of having 50 more CCA with this, ODYSSEY MODEL78-PC1500 , wait... just seen the price of 50 more CCA $317.88
I think I may just go with an interstate battery when the time comes.

Many do use the Mega Tron+ and have good luck with them.
I have been in the past also been using the Sealed lead acid from Indy Racing car which at the time (years ago) was called a platinum. Even though they seem not to make ANY sealed lead acid batteries anymore, I managed to find the same type from battery direct dual terminal and 850 CCA and 1050 Ca with Reserve of 115 min, with removable caps.
It is hard to find anything larger than 800CCA in a 34-78 group but here is one of them.

Product P78DT84 http://www.batterydirect.com/en/sear...8DT84&filter6=