Battery Voltage (Pictures)

[hzl6cm]

Originally Posted by nyrfan

OK, so what doesn't my DIC display this. Is this only shown on the SS or maybe because I have the 4 gauge pack?

My 2015 LS has the same display for the battery, as well as coolant temp, oil pressure and oil temp in the computer display.

[CamaroCracka]

Originally Posted by colingordon

Does it matter that my car was off in the picture when it said 12.1? Because when I turned it on it went up to 14.6

Also when it was at 12.1 I had been playing music in the car for 45 minutes without turning the car on

Yes it matters because when the car is running the alternator is charging and the voltage you are getting is alternator output. 14+ volts running is fine (you can actually go as low as 13.5, but that would tell me the alternator is on its way out).

Considering, you were using the battery for 45 minutes prior to getting a 12.1v reading, I would say your battery is fine. Batteries should not drop much below 12v or they won't start the vehicle, but to get one to read much over 12.5 with the car off is pretty rare.

I've never really found much use for amp draw tests on cars. Batteries and alternators don't cost enough to merit the tools unless you're doing it for a living. Diesels are another story because those parts can be expensive.

[Roy W.]

I was informed by an experienced tech that the alternators on the newer GM cars have a regulator that actually turns the alternator on and off. The days of seeing a constant 13.6 to 14.2 volts output are behind us. The alternator now only turns on when a charge is needed. When the battery is charged, the alternator turns itself off. The reasoning behind it all.......increased gas mileage.

[Cars and Tea]

Does that battery info show up on every years DIC?

or did I just not cycle all the way through?

[CamaroCracka]

Originally Posted by Roy W.

I was informed by an experienced tech that the alternators on the newer GM cars have a regulator that actually turns the alternator on and off. The days of seeing a constant 13.6 to 14.2 volts output are behind us. The alternator now only turns on when a charge is needed. When the battery is charged, the alternator turns itself off. The reasoning behind it all.......increased gas mileage.

Uh, I have to call BS on that one. Voltage regulators have been on cars since long before I was born. For the past, 40 years at least they have been inside the alternator itself. I can put my battery on a charger over night, and fire it up and still get over 14v. When the car is running it is running (spark, computer, lights, etc) off the alternator. If the car did not run off the alternator, your battery would be lucky to last a year.

Originally Posted by Cars and Tea

Does that battery info show up on every years DIC?

or did I just not cycle all the way through?

Remember, there are two sets of displays in the DIC. Once has odometer, speed, etc. and the other has oil life, battery voltage, engine health type data. You press the button on the turn signal to switch between the two. It should be there.

[tomlink]

Originally Posted by CamaroCracka

You press the button on the turn signal to switch between the two. It should be there.

Not on my 2011 with the guage pack. And with the engine off my voltage guage reads just under 12V with the engine off.

[camguynj]

What is the voltage for the mark between the 12 & 19 ? and what is the voltage reading in this pic ?

[CamaroCracka]

It should be half way between 12 and 19 volts, or 15.5v. That looks to be reading around 14 + or -.

[hzl6cm]

Originally Posted by CamaroCracka

Remember, there are two sets of displays in the DIC. Once has odometer, speed, etc. and the other has oil life, battery voltage, engine health type data. You press the button on the turn signal to switch between the two. It should be there.

On my 2015 LS there are 3 sets of displays on the DIC, the two mentioned above plus the performance displays. The battery voltage shows up in two of them. It appears on a screen, similar to what the OP shows in his pictures, in the vehicle settings. It also shows up in the performance screens as both a digital number and a digital bar gauge on the same screen that shows coolant temperature (also as a digital number and digital bar gauge). It sounds like they added screens and displays to the DIC on the newer cars, even on the base model LSs.

[gajagfan]

On a side note, when I was younger and first started drag racing our "69, I had a switch that I would push that would cut the positive current going into the alternator so that it was basically just along for the ride (spinning, but not producing any charge, so next to no load). When I went through the traps I would pull the switch and it would start charging again. I have no idea what HP we were saving, or how it affected our ET, but its what we did....because we were cool.

[derklug]

Your car is suffering from thermonuclear meltdown, it now junk and a hazardous waste to boot. It will run you about $150,000 to properly dispose of it, but if you send me the keys and the signed title, I'll come by and take it off your hands for free.

Your batteries fine and so is the charging system. If you had been running the radio for awhile, the voltage will be lower.

[CamaroCracka]

never tried it on the Camaro, but about 11.5 volts is pushing. The compression of the engine and the starter have a good bit to do with it as well.

[Supercharged Red]

Originally Posted by MySpeed

12.60 2.1 volts per cell = 12.60.

Wrong 1.2 volts per cell = 13.2 volts

[turboguy327]

Originally Posted by CamaroCracka

Uh, I have to call BS on that one. Voltage regulators have been on cars since long before I was born. For the past, 40 years at least they have been inside the alternator itself. I can put my battery on a charger over night, and fire it up and still get over 14v. When the car is running it is running (spark, computer, lights, etc) off the alternator. If the car did not run off the alternator, your battery would be lucky to last a year.

It's called pulse width modulation or PCM controlled voltage regulator. The "voltage regulator" is part of the PCM.