I had cause to check the battery voltage(12.6v) on my new Panda Easy and also the voltage at the socket (12.2v). There was a 0.4 volt difference. This means that there is a 3% voltage drop which is a very big drop for the distance involved.

It does concern me, should it? Or am I worrying over nothing?

i have a digital plug in voltmeter (cheap off ebay ) i leave it plugged into my 12v socket all the time this shows the voltage at the socket as soon as the ignition is turned on and mine drops to below 12v as different electricle draws happen ie power stearing raidio wipers ect but as soon as the engine starts the reading sits at about 14v, so i think you are worying about nothing

Diown said:

I had cause to check the battery voltage(12.6v) on my new Panda Easy and also the voltage at the socket (12.2v). There was a 0.4 volt difference. This means that there is a 3% voltage drop which is a very big drop for the distance involved.

It does concern me, should it? Or am I worrying over nothing?

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It will always show a voltage drop from the fag lighter as it's way down inside the loom but it should be representative in terms of change of voltage, ie: if there's a problem it will read lower than 'normal' at the socket, even if that 'normal' is not the same as if measured at the battery itself..... which is where you need to measure to get an exact count of the volts available at any time.

Battery voltage should show about 12.0v when ignition is off. will trop to 11.5v ish with ignition on (depending on what else is also switched on at the time) and then drop to under 11v when cranking. If it drops to nearer 9v when turning the engine over, it won't be working for much longer and is a sure sign of a battery on the way out. Running voltage will be between 13.5-14.3v typically and is a sign that the alternator is working as it should.