what voltage should i be seeing?

[detrix]

hey everybody, on my way back from supra-fest in BC, i had justin in the car with me and we noticed that on his radar detector it was only showing 13.6 volts at highway speeds, and at idle the voltage drops to about 12.4 volts. does that seem low to anybody else? it even looks to be a relatively new alternator, but i know looks dont mean much of anything. just wondering if my alternator is on the way out, or if there is some other underlying problem.
thanks for the input.

 

[Justin]

Just for reference when I have the radar detector in my car the voltage never drops below 14, idle, or otherwise.

 

[JustAnotherVictim]

It should sit somewhere between 12.6-14 iirc.

 

[Bishop92t]

I wouldn't worry until it dips into the low 12's with all the electronics on.

 

[Big Wang Bandit]

Mine dips below 12 sometimes with heater, defroster and radio sometimes.
It also dips when my turn signals are on lol

 

[born2drv]

ya anything in the 13s shoudl be OK.... mine is rock solid at 14.8V at idle ... I completely overhauled my entire charging system though.