ok, round two.

i ended up replacing the battery, as it was new, and why not get that out of the way.

with the engine at about 2k, i'm getting about 14.5V at the alternator, and as high as about 13.8 at the battery. with the engine off, i'm reading about 12.6 at the battery.

so i think it's safe to say the alternator is ok. i took it out for a long drive, including a through the gears and it seems to be ok so far.

when i took it out, once the engine was off idle, the gauge in the car was reading +20. within just a few minutes on the highway, it was about 1/2 way between 0 and 20, and then by the end of the ride it was closer to 0, although off 0 in the positive direction.


my question at the moment is the difference in voltage from the alternator to the battery. shouldn't that be roughly the same? so 14.5V at the alternator, wouldn't you expect to see within a few tenths of that at the battery?