The voltage should rise once the car has stopped running to charge the battery. If the battery is not fully charged after starting the car, you may observe readings that are less than 13V, but this will be temporary since the battery won't stay fully charged for long after starting. In spite of this, modern charging systems may monitor the amount of amperage that the battery is drawing and stop charging the battery when it has reached full capacity. A battery charge of 0V while the car is running indicates that the battery is being charged. In general, you should receive a reading that is close or slightly over 14V, but there are generally readings between 13V and 14V. Connect this meter to your car's charging system and start the engine to check if the system is functioning well. If you measure voltage while the car is running, you will notice that between 0 and 130 volts, the voltage is up and down and appears You should not see the voltage bouncing up and down much more than a few tenths of a volt. However, alternators are not like generators, as the engine revs can fluctuate and therefore they have to adjust the output voltage constantly through the regulator. In a typical car, the alternator will provide between 14V and 15V while the engine is running. In order to do so, it needs to provide a higher voltage level than the battery itself to charge the battery. You can check your charging system's (alternator's) health by In your car, the alternator is charging the battery while it is running. Consequently, if you want to see how your battery is doing, the best thing to do is get in your car after it has been off for over 12 hours, turn on the ignition (but don't start the car), and get You should not have a reading lower than 12V and the higher the reading, the better your It is not surprising that you will not see a reading of 13V when your car is "fully charged, no load," as you use battery power even when the ignition is off for many things such as turning on the dome light when you approach As a reviewer, it is difficult to explain that the best gauge of your battery's health is how fast it discharges under load, but when you take the voltage readings, you aren't aware of how burdensome the load is, so this is difficult to quantify. When you begin cranking a car, if the battery voltage is less than 12 volts, the vehicle will likely not crank "happy". When you connect this meter to your vehicle outlet and turn the ignition to on (engine not running), you will see that you have a low battery voltage. Under normal load (without cranking the engine, but with the ignition turned to on without the car running), you should not see a reading lower than 12V on your car battery. Here are some tips on how to check In a 12V lead acid battery, you'll typically get a reading of about 13 volts, but a healthy 12V battery that's fully charged and not connected to anything will give you a reading of 17 volts. It may not be necessary for me to bore you with details, but just plug this in and you will get 12 to 13V, while the engine is not running, and the battery should be charged to As long as the engine is running, the battery must provide 5V or more. If you are willing to read further I will attempt to explain the voltage readings you will see. You will find this to be a very useful tool once you understand the voltage readings you will see, if you are willing to read further. Also, let me just say that the bar graph directly to the right of the voltage reading and the symbols above them are completely pointless and useless. The green, yellow, and red led indicators on it are completely meaningless and are of no consequence. However, this winter I purchased this meter and plugged it in to see if I could get a better understanding of what is happening Firstly, let me say that all that matters is the voltage reading. Now I have a different car, which I purchased a couple of years ago, and last year the dealership replaced the battery under warranty.
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