Does this indicate the battery is bad? I thought a new battery should be around 12.6 volts.

12.3-12.8 is fine

Normal...

A little on the low side but nothing to worry about.

Must be that shrinkflation... They're only filling the batteries with 97% of the electricity, but still charging full price.

Just don’t let the smoke out… All the magic will go with it.

It has been sitting for a month or so. Install it, run the car, and check the resting voltage the next morning before restarting. Should read 12.8 for a brand new lead acid battery.

quote:

Originally posted by 4x5:
Does this indicate the battery is bad? I thought a new battery should be around 12.6 volts.

A fully charged battery will typically have a voltmeter reading of about 12.6 to 12.8 volts.

12.3 volts just means it needs some charging, not that it is bad.

I'm skeptical of your meter being accurate to within .3 volts, unless it was recently calibrated and certified. Also, if you haven't changed the battery in your meter lately, do so. I've had Flukes seem to be working, with the battery down to 6 or 7 volts-wouldn't trust it for accuracy.

Some cars have quite complex battery charging programming. It isn't as simple as the alternator charging to full voltage every time the engine runs long enough. I don't know how the charging parameters are set and what the system is trying to do, other than the simple task of having enough to start the car. The charging programs are adaptive, and can lead to very long battery life in some cars. My BMW doesn't seem to keep the battery at peak voltage all the time, and one battery lasted over 7 years. I replaced it because it seemed a little low at times, so does the new one, but it always starts. I trust if there was a voltage problem, the system would assuredly alert me.

I'm not a car battery expert, but my almost 4 year old Toyota OEM battery still registers 12.8~ before start up and when the alternator kicks in 13.8 which is factory spec. I've measured and measured and I have zero measurable patristic draw, so there's that. If you're still under warranty it might be worth a trip to the dealership. I've found, Toyota at least, doesn't quibble much on battery issues. Customer complains, they lean toward replacement.

Summer spec shipping rates are as low as 12.55 volts. 12.3 volts is good to go. Give it a charge if you have one before you put it in your vehicle. If not, put it in and take a nice long drive to charge it. If you were at 11 volts I'd be concerned. 10 volts would definitely be a bad battery/ cell and would need to be returned.

 

As said above, it's not necessarily bad, just slightly discharged. It should also have a MFG sticker on it with the month/year somewhere, if it has been sitting for a while, it will discharge.
Shop needs to rotate stock. 20 years ago I worked at a store that sold a lot of batteries. The display racks held ~8 deep, but could only be loaded from the front. Guess how old some of the ones in back were.... About the only time we rotated them was during inventor when you had to pull all the fucking things out to scan & then put them back. We would run the oldest through a test/charge/test cycle & then put them in the front to sell quickly.
The stock racks loaded from the back & faced the bays. So if we installed it, you were getting a fresh one.