Charging issue has me stumped

[Siggertx]

Truck is a 96 C1500 5.7. Initial issue was that the alternator wasn't consistently putting out 14+v. Sometimes when I'd first start the truck my multimeter and gauge would show 14.3v but the interior lights and sometimes the headlights would flicker, then after a few minutes the alternator and battery would show between 13.5-13.8v.

I replaced the alternator with a new 140 amp unit, replaced the battery, and pulled both ends of the 3 cables for cleaning and inspection. All of the terminal ends were reasonably clean.

First time I started the truck I got 14.3v on the alternator and battery, shut it down and called it a night. From that point on I'm seeing 13.8v at idle on up to 2500RPM as confirmed with 2 different volt meters.

Bad ground somewhere maybe? The 3 cables are in visually good condition, possibly replaced recently (I haven't owned the truck for a year yet). I'd welcome any suggestions, thanks.

 

[skylark]

There is nothing wrong with your truck. The reason for 14-plus when you first fire it up is because you just pulled a heavy load on the battery. After its run for a few minutes it doesn't have to charge quite so hard so it drops the voltage down.