C5 KIDD

ive noticed that when driving the car, my volts bounce all over the place. as high as 14.1 then down to 12.7, and it just keeps jumping. does that sound normal?? doesnt seem like it should do that.

also, when stopped in traffic, seems like the volts just continue to drop down to the upper 12's.

last night i noticed when i was stopped, that the interior lights/dash/radio were flickering a little. it went away once i was driving for a while. the lights in the car really dim when puting the windows up or down also, not just a little, but you can really notice it.

any ideas? or am i just paranoid?!?

phils C5 vette

I havent noticed flickering, but When I start up the car im at 14.2
after some driving I drop into the 12's. My car sits for a week or two at a time and gets started if it's a nice weekend

jman1

i never noticed mine... i know it's at 14 or so after start up... i don't think it should be bouncing like that....

Y2Kvert4me

When the car is running, you are reading the charge voltage.

It will always tend to be higher at startup, as the battery is taking more of a charge. As the battery nears a full charge, the displayed voltage will gradually drop off, typically into the low 13's.

Depending on your definition of the voltage "jumping" and how rapidly it fluctuates, there could be a battery issue making itself evident.
How old and what type is your battery?

If you are posting this because it's suddenly something you've always watched and this behavior is new and unusual, there's a problem.
If you've never paid much attention before, and don't know if this is unusual, you may be worrying over nothing.
It's really hard to say based on your description, as some of it sounds normal, other parts don't.

white93

My '99 runs about 14.1, 14.2 v most of the time. A bit higher right after start-up.
I notice dimming of headlights at apparently random times while driving, no obvious correlation to speed, windows up or down, radio, etc. Need to be on fairly dark roads to notice the dimming which lasts a couple of seconds, then things go back to normal.

C5 KIDD

well my stock battery ended up dying at the track in the staging lanes, actually had to push start the car up to the light. went home and changed the battery do a new die hard.

the car seems to always have light dimming problems when using the windows. is it really that normal?

when i say "jumping" i mean constantly changing... might see 13.7, then right to 14.1, then down to 12.9 then 13.3, then etc. i dont mean 13.3-13.5... mine is all over the place. watching it makes me dizzy!! just doesnt seem like it should be like that?

400hp

Mine is at 14.0 when I first start it, then it goes down gradually to 13.9, then 13.8 to a low of about 13.6 while I'm driving.

Stangkiller

Brian, you've got those two nuts on your positive side, have you tightened both of those down so that your positive lead can no longer twist around? If so, we need to start looking at other loose ground areas...when i had a similar problem it turned out to be my starter working itsway loose.

Chris

Cirrus8

Ditto for my car.

drmgoat

Mine is at 14 and stays there.

BAD Z06

I drive mine everyday and it stays around 14 and up, but it has never bounced..although one day my battery died and I never saw a warning that it was dying..ya that day sucked..spent 2 hours at a gas station

GOZ2FST

Mine used to run around 14, but yesterday it was at 15 all day down to Monterrey and back. Wonder if my battery is about to explode.

Road_runner

Maybe time for a new battery?

Stock Man

Your die hard may be having a hard time dieing. How old is the die hard? I would give it a good charge and see if it makes a difference. To many people get new batteries and put them directly into service and don't charge them for 12 to 24 hours before using them. Then when they drive the car it's for short runs and stop and start driving. That's the worse case scenario for a battery. If this is what you have done to the battery you started killing the battery before it even started life.

Try giving it a good charge for 12 to 24 hours at 2 to 3 amps and see if it makes a difference. If the battery is over 2 to 3 years it may need changing out. Keep us posted. My .02

FastAssVette

Mine stays at around 13.9, your alternator might have a lose conection, or it might be on it"s way out.

C5 KIDD

thanks guys for all the replies!

so from the sound of things, looks like the bouncing volts does not sound normal. which doesnt surprise me.

the battery is maybe 2 months old.

stockman, thanks for the info. i did not charge the battery after purchasing it, i just threw it in and went on my way! i will try charging it for a day and see what happens.

see i was wondering the same thing. could my alternator be causing all this? lets say the battery is dying... wouldnt 2 batteries dying be a sign of something else??

MY1STPEWTER

When driving down the road it seems mine is always on 14.5. Don't remember what it is on startup.

Blue Lion

Whenever I check mine, I'm at 14.1 or .2, Optima red top installed about 6 months ago.

Doo

It's normal...the problem lies within the cars gauge, not the charging system. If you test the voltage with a multimeter you'll see the gauge is just wacky, very common in Corvettes.

screw991le

Mine goes right up to 14.3 volts, even after sitting for a week or two.