Is my alternator overcharging?
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Joined: Oct 2023
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Is my alternator overcharging?
Hello all-
My 2016 Silverado would not start the other day. It started fine and drove fine for ~20 mins after a jump start, so I replaced the (original) battery today, and it started right up. However, I went to test the voltage on the battery, with the engine running, and it came in at 14.9 at first. After a few minutes of the engine running, I did it again and it bounced around between 14.78-14.81, so call it 14.8 or so
I hope I'm just overthinking this, but anyone care to opine if this is too high in their opinion? I think that 14.6 would be considered normal right? My concern is if the alternator is overcharging the battery, and if that'* the case, could that be slowly killing the battery?
My 2016 Silverado would not start the other day. It started fine and drove fine for ~20 mins after a jump start, so I replaced the (original) battery today, and it started right up. However, I went to test the voltage on the battery, with the engine running, and it came in at 14.9 at first. After a few minutes of the engine running, I did it again and it bounced around between 14.78-14.81, so call it 14.8 or so
I hope I'm just overthinking this, but anyone care to opine if this is too high in their opinion? I think that 14.6 would be considered normal right? My concern is if the alternator is overcharging the battery, and if that'* the case, could that be slowly killing the battery?
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Joined: Feb 2015
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From: Earth
Hello all-
My 2016 Silverado would not start the other day. It started fine and drove fine for ~20 mins after a jump start, so I replaced the (original) battery today, and it started right up. However, I went to test the voltage on the battery, with the engine running, and it came in at 14.9 at first. After a few minutes of the engine running, I did it again and it bounced around between 14.78-14.81, so call it 14.8 or so
I hope I'm just overthinking this, but anyone care to opine if this is too high in their opinion? I think that 14.6 would be considered normal right? My concern is if the alternator is overcharging the battery, and if that'* the case, could that be slowly killing the battery?
My 2016 Silverado would not start the other day. It started fine and drove fine for ~20 mins after a jump start, so I replaced the (original) battery today, and it started right up. However, I went to test the voltage on the battery, with the engine running, and it came in at 14.9 at first. After a few minutes of the engine running, I did it again and it bounced around between 14.78-14.81, so call it 14.8 or so
I hope I'm just overthinking this, but anyone care to opine if this is too high in their opinion? I think that 14.6 would be considered normal right? My concern is if the alternator is overcharging the battery, and if that'* the case, could that be slowly killing the battery?
Modern electrical systems regulate the voltage level outside of the old way of having the alternator charge at whatever voltage the regulator is set to. While I've never gotten used to the older systems that top out at 13.6v, what you are reporting is normal.
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