14.4v

Those ratings are with engine running or not running. Battery voltage = 12.6, with engine running the alternator is 14.4. So to answer your uestion... run the engine all the time.

 
While the alternator does provide 14.4V if the current draw exceeds the capacity of the alternator the voltage will drop to the battery voltage (hence the dimming of lights) If your current draw exceeds that of your battery and alternator you need a new alt or a cap. A cap will only handle short bursts however, if you are drawing a current which constantly exceeds that of your alternator output + battery(one hell of a system or one crappy charging system) you will need a new alternator ++.

 
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