No, a higher voltage is what would damage the battery.
However - if your battery is at all damaged, or weak, it's NEVER a bad idea to go ahead and replace both together, to avoid putting undue strain on your alt from a weak battery.
Ya, my battery is gettin pretty old and doesn't sit at 14.1 volts anymore unless I really step on the gas to charge it back up. I was thinking of upgrading my alt thinkin it may help it stay at 14.1 volts but I guess I should change that also. Any battery suggestions?
A battery is normally 12.6 volts - or maybe around 13.1ish with a good surface charge immediately after you turn off the vehicle. You should test the battery with the car off. Is it 12.6+? (might want to drive for a little bit w/o a system to make sure it's 100% ch arged.)
If it's only getting up to like 14+ when you really step on the gas... It sounds like you dont really have a problem, that's not too bad. A lot of alts dont produce full power until high RPM's.
Or if anything, it might be your alternator showing the first signs of the end of it's life.
So you mean an alt doesnt just stop working. Can you explain it a little more. I mean what do you mean by the first signs, is there a lot of signs that will point out that the alt is going out.
Well, in my T-Bird that I had, I blew my alt. because I was sucking out too much power with my system and it was having difficulty recharging my battery. I mean, literally, if you looked at my battery gauge, it looked like it was dancing. Eventually I wasn't able to start my car so I replaced my alt. and took out the fuse to my system so it could recharge.
"A battery is normally 12.6 volts - or maybe around 13.1ish with a good surface charge immediately after you turn off the vehicle. :-) You should test the battery with the car off. Is it 12.6+? (might want to drive for a little bit w/o a system to make sure it's 100% charged.)"
Ya, ive tested my battery and it's around 12.6 so it's still ok. The only problem in my case is that I have a digital gauge for everything in my SUV. Plus, some thing on it are broken or are going to be going soon and it sucks!
I used a DMM to test my battery at idle with the bass pretty high...fluctuated from 13.6v to about 13.7v depending on the bass notes... Is this a good voltage to have at idle?
You should test the battery with the car off. Is it 12.6+? (might want to drive for a little bit w/o a system to make sure it's 100% ch arged.)