Voltmeter Gauge low

[GR8SCOTT]

Hi. I was hoping someone could assist. I removed my Binnacle to replace the trip reset, convert to LEDs etc. I reinstalled the Binnacle and the voltmeter seems to be way off in accuracy now as well as RPMs seem a little higher than normal. When I turn on car & hit the accelerator the voltmeter stays put. The multimeter reading is 11.91v. Any suggestions?

[GR8SCOTT]

Hi. I was hoping someone could assist. I removed my Binnacle to replace the trip reset, convert to LEDs etc. I reinstalled the Binnacle and the voltmeter seems to be way off in accuracy now as well as RPMs seem a little higher than normal. When I turn on car & hit the accelerator the voltmeter stays put. The multimeter reading is 11.91v. Any suggestions?

[Bitsyncmaster]

Have you checked the voltage with a multimeter? Does your alternator light come on with the key set on?

[GR8SCOTT]

Have you checked the voltage with a multimeter? Does your alternator light come on with the key set on?

I have. The multimeter reading is 11.91v with ignition off & 11.50v with ignition on. Dash battery light is not on.

[GR8SCOTT]

Have you checked the voltage with a multimeter? Does your alternator light come on with the key set on?

Correction. Dash battery light is on when keyset is on but goes off when car is started.

[eight8toy]

Is that voltmeter reading at the battery terminals? I had my alternator die one day and those were about the same readings I got at the battery too. No warning, just out for a drive and my "new" alternator just gave up and left me stranded! That was like my first 2 weeks of ownership.

[GR8SCOTT]

Is that voltmeter reading at the battery terminals? I had my alternator die one day and those were about the same readings I got at the battery too. No warning, just out for a drive and my "new" alternator just gave up and left me stranded! That was like my first 2 weeks of ownership.

Yes it was at the battery terminals. I let the car run for a while & it seems to be making a comeback. Last check with the multimeter was 13.85v

[DavidProehl]

Did you leave the low battery light as an incandescent or replace it with an LED as well? I'm not sure what the symptoms are with an LED for your low battery light, but your battery won't charge so I'd expect you'd see low voltage like this. The low battery light must remain incandescent.

[Bitsyncmaster]

Normaly you should be getting 14 to 14.8 volts with the engine running and no loads turned on. Colder the voltage runs higher than when the alternator is hot.

Alternators don't usually fail intermittent. Usually a failure is sudden and permanent.

[Trstno1]

Did you leave the low battery light as an incandescent or replace it with an LED as well? I'm not sure what the symptoms are with an LED for your low battery light, but your battery won't charge so I'd expect you'd see low voltage like this. The low battery light must remain incandescent.

+1