Fluctuating battery gauge

Question.

is the battery gauge supposed to fluctuate while driving?

the last time this happened was my 2020 Ram etorque and the battery’s failed while driving. Praying not more battery issues. Hopefully this is normal, you all know more than me I just transitioned from Mopar from last 20 years

 

I’d guess not. How much and how fast is it fluctuating? It’ll charge higher when you first start the truck and then drop once the battery is topped off. My 2.5 Gen starts around 14.5 but goes down to mid 13s after driving awhile. If yours is noticeably up and down in short periods, that’s not normal.

 

I was trying to upload a video but it won’t let me but yes it is constant like every five seconds it goes to 3/4 then back to a 1/4

 

It’s normal. Charges at first, then stops charging, but will charge when you’re off the throttle and coasting.

 

I've had my truck since April and that's a normal occurrence. As others have started the battery charges during certain driving conditions and therefore you see the increase to 14ish volts then it stops charging and goes back down on to the 12ish normal reading.

 

More and more newer vehicles do this as a way to manage to charging the battery. My 22 Tundra does it and my wifes 21 Honda Ridgeline does the same thing, some kind of pulse charging they called it, not sure of the thought process behind it but it's normal.

 

I know they are saying it’s normal but that’s a lot of fluctuation. And if you look at the gauge it reads 9-19 volts. That’s 2.5 volts per line. So if he is correct on the 1/4-3/4 then he’s going from 11.5-16.5. Doesn’t sound right.

 

I have a digital usb port plugged into the light port and it shows actual battery voltage and the numbers I see when it's charging and not charging are 11.9 vdc to 14.3 vdc. The analog voltage gauge I'm sure isn't the most accurate, it sure caught my attention the first time I saw it. I think if you have the digital voltmeter, it may not even show the fluctuations.

 

Granted I don’t have a 22 but I don’t see Toyota using a gauge that goes from 1/4-3/4 every 5 seconds like the OP mentioned. That would drive me crazy. But hey I have seen weirder things. Does your move that much?