voltmeter reading

[dauz]

Have a 2000 19' Sea Pro Skiff with original gauges. With the key off, it reads about 13-14V. When the key is on and the engine is running, the gauge immediately pegs at 18V and stays there while the engine is running. Is this the sign of a bad gauge or misalignment of the needle in the gauge? Not sure whether the 70HP 1999 Johnson has an adjustable voltage regulator or whether I should be concerned.

[wen]

Normal battery voltage would be 12.6Vto 12.8 volts, fully charged.If the voltage is being read from a more remote point than the battery, or thru weak connections, it will be less.
With most engines runnning,therefore charging the battery you should see 13-14 volts or so.You likely have a meter that is bad. I rememger an old boat I had with a volt meter and it would read about the same as your's.It's all relative, it will still tell you that your battery is being charged.
Do you have a modern GPS or Sonar that will give you a voltage reading?
That's how I get my voltage readings these days-- no moving parts to worry about and much more accurate.
Hope this helps.
Wen

[dauz]

Wen, Currently using a hand held Garmin 76C GPS so don't get a reading off that or my FF which I operate off a separate battery system. Instruments operate off the starting battery so I guess I'm looking at a project to pull the dash panel and replacing the volt meter. Should not be difficult to find one to match the rest of the instruments. It's about what I expected. Thanks for the input.

[Capt.Nick]

It's also possible your battery is overcharging,I've had this happen,bad alternator..After running awhile,feel the battery to see if it's hot,which it shouldn't be.Before I changed the guage,I'd check it with a voltmeter at the battery and the volt meter connections both on and off to see what readings you get.You can get a cheap volt/ohm meter at radio shack for about $6.Make sure you have it on dc volts and not ohms when you check it or you'll ruin the meter.

[RoryGoggin]

Regulator