My gauge seems to read OK by my older car standards but I am not electrically smart at all. My 08 SG the gauge stayed at 16 volts all the time and very rarely moved from the spot. I now have an 12 Liomited and the gauge will read 12 volts at an idle and go to 14-15 volts when running higher RPM's . Now my Jeep reads the same as the Limited ( lower at idle, higher when running ) but others are telling me on the bike it should not vary much at all. Is this an issue with the Limited or is it working as it should ?

 

My 04 does the exact same thing so I made sure that the battery was only receiving 14v and it was, so I'm interested in this answer as well.
It seems as though all of my guages read a little high as a matter of fact....

 

Nobody else with this issue ( if it is one ? )

 

Don't think you have an issue. Should read about 14.5 - 15 when running. Sounds like your bike is charging correctly.

 

I guess what I meant was that my guage stays at 16v, but my actual charge voltage is a little above 14v (at the battery).
The guage should read a little high after starting the bike, after a bit it should drop to a "normalized" voltage, 14.0-14.5, engine speed and electrical load will determine how fast the battery recovers after starting the engine. 12v at idle does not sound right but the guage could be off.
I'm certain the guages in our bikes, stock guages, are not accurate, more generalized.
Maybe someone can chime in with a better answer than mine ?

 

My 08 FLHX constantly reads 16v, had it checked last time it was in for service, the HD tech said everythings fine, probably just the cheap gauges HD uses.

 

Best to check at the battery. With the bike not running you should get about 12.5 or so and running 14 to 15 volts. Can't trust the gauges to be all that accurate.

 

Second that. The gauges are good for approximate values but not dependably accurate.

 

Of the 4 bat wing fairing bikes I've had, 2 volt gauges read accurately and 2 read high, including my 2012.