What Should the Correct Battery Voltage Be?

[Nut Kracker]

Rip it out and get a decent battery.

The batteries they put in new cars now-a-days, are usually just rated (CCA) for the engine.
Just enough power to get them going.
Saves them money, see.

I've always used Century batteries and have never had any trouble.

 

[hotrod]

if your battery starts to drop down past 12.1 volts while setting over night its time to replace it.

at first you notice it will start charging around 14.4 volts and decrease to around 13 volts so it doesn't burn and over charge the battery , its called the regulator so it gives out what it needs.

 

[cashie]

you guys probably need to read this.....

The car should not be struggling to start.

OP can you define "struggling to start"?
The voltage sounds ok and as you say it is a new car I'd expect it to be ok.
How many kms have you done in the car?
Do you drive it daily?
How far do you drive it?

With the info given (very little) I gave my advice to drive it and give it a good run.

 

[Nut Kracker]

Just because the voltage is ok, doesn't mean it will start the car.
Current, or amps is the key.

To the OP.....
On the battery, there should be a label that tells you what the Cold Cranking Amps, or CCA are.
What does this say?

If the CCA is too low, it will struggle to start. That is, turn over slowly.
New cars now-a-days draw a lot of power.
Not only does the battery have to power the starter, but all the electronics associated with the car.
Especially the electronic ignition system.

 

[Phil the shearer]

Just a little story. I was looking at buying a new 2013 plated redline ute ,that I know has been sitting on the dealer floor for at least six months. I would go in there regularly, sit in the ute and motivate myself to buy the thing. The salesmen would always be nice to me, probably figured I was a tyre kicker but eventually a buyer... Last time I went in ,salesman offered to start the ute so I could listen to it. He was embarrassed because the battery was flat as a maggot ! They sold that ute to someone just before I bought my ssv. What do you think happened? Did they pitch the original battery and put a new one in ,or put that original battery on the charger for a day or so?
I know enough about batteries to know that once a battery has gone dead flat , it will never be the same again. It won't hold a charge for an extended period of time and it will probably fail a load test... It might come up to the correct voltage when checked, but under a load it will fail.
How sure are you that the battery in your vehicle was actually new , fully charged and hadn't been in it for ages and gone dead flat?
I agree with some comments here that the stock battery is the cheapest option. I will most likely upgrade my battery to a heavy duty one, so I can continue to sit in the garage and have ute parties featuring music DVDs and alcohol, without the worry of draining my battery.

 

[cashie]

Just because the voltage is ok, doesn't mean it will start the car.
Current, or amps is the key.

To the OP.....
On the battery, there should be a label that tells you what the Cold Cranking Amps, or CCA are.
What does this say?

If the CCA is too low, it will struggle to start. That is, turn over slowly.
New cars now-a-days draw a lot of power.
Not only does the battery have to power the starter, but all the electronics associated with the car.
Especially the electronic ignition system.

It's a new car with the original battery Holden specified isn't it?
The CCA would be as specified.

 

[Nut Kracker]

It's a new car with the original battery Holden specified isn't it?
The CCA would be as specified.

Who knows.
Just because it may be the factory battery, doesn't mean it's still good.

We'll have to wait for the OP to supply some more information.
But as Phil the shearer said above.....it could have gone flat and been re charged, or replaced.

How old is the car and battery???? After all, the car has been out for over 12 months.

 

[Reaper]

It's a new car with the original battery Holden specified isn't it?
The CCA would be as specified.

In which case the CCA is marginal at best. Whilst the battery is in top condition it will start the car fine. Once it goes off a bit then cold mornings etc will cause trouble. Been thru it with each of my VE's. Can't remember the numbers but get the biggest CCA (quality) battery you can find.

 

[mpower]

Just a little story. I was looking at buying a new 2013 plated redline ute ,that I know has been sitting on the dealer floor for at least six months. I would go in there regularly, sit in the ute and motivate myself to buy the thing. The salesmen would always be nice to me, probably figured I was a tyre kicker but eventually a buyer... Last time I went in ,salesman offered to start the ute so I could listen to it. He was embarrassed because the battery was flat as a maggot ! They sold that ute to someone just before I bought my ssv. What do you think happened? Did they pitch the original battery and put a new one in ,or put that original battery on the charger for a day or so?
I know enough about batteries to know that once a battery has gone dead flat , it will never be the same again. It won't hold a charge for an extended period of time and it will probably fail a load test... It might come up to the correct voltage when checked, but under a load it will fail.
How sure are you that the battery in your vehicle was actually new , fully charged and hadn't been in it for ages and gone dead flat?
I agree with some comments here that the stock battery is the cheapest option. I will most likely upgrade my battery to a heavy duty one, so I can continue to sit in the garage and have ute parties featuring music DVDs and alcohol, without the worry of draining my battery.

that's a cool story and all but here's a counter one - friend of ours had the battery replaced in their '07 SS earlier this year (less than 2 months ago) because it wasn't starting as well as they were used to - it was the original battery.

Personally I always make sure to get a good quality 13 plate battery and am yet to have trouble. I rarely even need to buy batteries, I'm usually just replacing the one the car came with and then I don't worry about it until I get another car...

 

[BOOST666]

It may not be the battery at fault, you could have a constant current draw somewhere in the system.