Where does the voltmeter measure the voltage? Coming out of the alternator, or the voltage coming out of the battery. The other day I put a digital voltmeter on my battery, started the engine turned on all the accessories to see what voltage was coming out of the battery and it pretty much remained the same. The gauge inside the car dropped below 13 volts. So I suspect the voltage is measured coming out of the alternator.

Thanks

Gary

 

The volt meter in the cluster measures the voltage at the cluster, which is after the ignition switch. With high current draw, as is the case with all the accessories on, for example, there will be a voltage drop between the battery / alternator sources and loads. I've seen up to a 2.5 volt drop at the RH head lights, which have the longest wire run from the head light switch.

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Tim

1992 Z28, 305 TPI 5 speed, 12.1 sec @ 114.7 mph

1984 Berlinetta 305 TPI Auto, 13.8 sec @ 99.7 mph