Q: The "service battery charging system" light is on but the voltage gauge is reading over 14 volts

Hello There, Depending on how much over the 14 volt mark your gauge is reading, you may have a voltage regulator that could be overcharging the battery at a rate that is too high relative to what the system requires. The voltage regulator is a unit that regulates the charging of the battery by the alternator. When the voltage regulator is not working properly, this may result in the alternator allowing too much power to be delivered to the battery resulting in damaging wires and prematurely sometimes destroying the battery. A common sign of this is usually the acid inside the battery boiling causing the battery to swell. You may also smell a bit of smoke due to things potentially getting too hot. In other cases it may result in the alternator not supplying enough power to the battery, resulting in undercharging the battery or not charging it at all. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose your vehicle’s charging system.