Alternator output voltage ? - SGII Forester

[Liberty Valance]

Could I please trouble some SGII owners to put a volt meter across their battery at idle and report back the results?

I had previously recorded 14.4 volts but now it's down to 13.3 volts on both of my cars. I was convinced the foresters had a constant voltage output but now I am not so sure.

Need to get my facts straight as I have a 5 month old battery which seems to be dying but I don't know if it's going to be a valid warranty claim or not.

 

[Kevin]

13.7-14.3 for my SG1. I imagine it would be the similar for SGII

 

[Ratbag]

Our SG II varies from 14.69V (just started) to 14.68-14.67V (idling). All readings across battery terminals.

 

[PauSum]

14.10V (14.09V - 14.11V) on our July 2005 MY06

 

[Liberty Valance]

Thank you so much guys. This forum is such a great resource !

I have found the MY06 car has a 1 volt drop across the alternator earth which shouldn't be too hard to fix. It measures 13.3 on the battery terminals but 14.3 from the alternator terminal to earth.

The MY07 car is a problem. It has a 9 month old aftermarket alternator which did output 14.4 volts from new but is now outputting 13 volts at best. Unfortunately this has ruined a new battery in just 5 months.

 

[gregjet]

Could have a dying ( possibly shorting) cell in the battery?