13.4 low voltage at idle?

[99grandprixGT 5,000+ posts]

my dad called me and told me his battery light on the dash lite up. i told him to check the voltage with a DMM at idle he was at 13.4. now i think that is really low at idle with no accessories on. it dose not even have a CD player. you guys think the alt is going out? the battery is resting at 12.75 with car off i think its still good.

Click to read more...

 

[chaunb3400 10+ year member]

clean the cables, make sure they are on nice and tight and re-check

 

[JBGabriel 10+ year member]

Bat sounds fine. Alt doesnt sound too bad either. I know that with my stock alt the only time I would sit at 14.4 was in the morning when i first started my car. After that it would be 13.5-13.8ish.

 

[Ford302Redneck 10+ year member]

13.4 isn't low low, but it isn't working properly.

Check all the connections real good.

 

[99grandprixGT 5,000+ posts]

clean the cables, make sure they are on nice and tight and re-check

all right ill give that a try.

Bat sounds fine. Alt doesnt sound too bad either. I know that with my stock alt the only time I would sit at 14.4 was in the morning when i first started my car. After that it would be 13.5-13.8ish.

ya i just dont want it to be to late and end up draining the battery all the way down.

13.4 isn't low low, but it isn't working properly.
Check all the connections real good.

ya im going to do that in the morning. thanks for the suggestions guys.

 

[tcguy85 10+ year member]

Bat sounds fine. Alt doesnt sound too bad either. I know that with my stock alt the only time I would sit at 14.4 was in the morning when i first started my car. After that it would be 13.5-13.8ish.

same here! i've seen mine as high as 14.8 in the morning when the car first starts up but then by the time i get to work(a 10-12 minute drive) it's down in the mid to high 13's.

i just wish when my engine was off that my voltage would sit a bit higher.

 

[99grandprixGT 5,000+ posts]

same here! i've seen mine as high as 14.8 in the morning when the car first starts up but then by the time i get to work(a 10-12 minute drive) it's down in the mid to high 13's.
i just wish when my engine was off that my voltage would sit a bit higher.

ill have to check that out ill start it up now after its been sitting for 12 hrs and see what its at. but i mean the only reason i think something is wrong is becaue the battery light came on while driving. so dosnt that mean that the voltage reached an unsafe point.?

 

[regal8r 5,000+ posts]

supposed to be 13.5-14.5...get the alt load checked