The needle on my dashboard charging system guage was staying to the right (+). There were no other signs of anything wrong (starts fine, I can run the headlights without draining the battery). I had the battery and charging system tested at a battery shop (Batteries Plus). He said the battery is "on the way out", but the charging system is functioning normally. He also commented that the battery voltage was quite high (~14 V). I had him install a new battery, but the needle is still pointing toward the right on the guage, same as with the old battery. Is this OK? Could there be a problem with the charging system (e.g. voltage regulator?) that was not detected?

 

How far to the side is it? Also OE gauges aren't the most accurate...

You could have your alt pulled and tested at a local automotive shop too.

 

Just put a volt meter on the battery terminals with the truck running. You should read somewhere between 13.5 and 14.8 volts. Any higher and you have a voltage regultor problem, otherwise it could be something with the gauge.

-Jon

 

If straight up is 0 and all the way to the right is 100, the needle is pointing to about 30.

I'll check the voltage across the battery terminals.