My alternator is putting 17v+ to my battery when it's running The battery sit at 14v+ when it is off. I'm not sure but I think thats a bad thing when everything in my car is supposed to see 12v. I'm afraid to drive the damn thing in fear the Optima Yellow Top will explode or something electrical will get damage. Any Ideas is this a voltage regulator issue?

 

thats pretty high man, 13.5-14.5 is considered the normal output, check the v-reg

 

yup thats bad, and it will over charge your battery which can indeed cause your battery to blow, in all likely hood, it will just crack and spill the acid (or in your case acid gel) all over the place....eitherway its not good dont drive it till you get it fixed

 

All is good. It was just my cheap Harbor Freight DMM. Bought a new one from Sears and it read the voltage within the limits. Thanks for the replys.

 

what a pos dmm

 

i wouldn't even trust the sears one.

 

for $2.99, what do you expect