battery voltage

[DONONE69]

how many volts should my battery be running? I tested it straight after i turned the engine off and left the headlights on whilst doing it! it was reading around 11 volts! is that right? many thanks in advance

[Zulu95]

Sounds a little low but try again with everything switched off. Should read just over 12V around 12.3V - 12.5V

[dkl]

Originally Posted by Zulu95

Sounds a little low but try again with everything switched off. Should read just over 12V around 12.3V - 12.5V

The battery level should be just over 12V with everything off (around 12.2V-12.4V when left sitting several days without driving and around 12.6V-12.8V when measured immediately after a long drive). The alternator output (with engine running) should be around 13.9V. However, you will still need to do a load test in order to determine if your battery is bad.