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The ideal way to determine if your charging system has been keeping your battery fully charged is to check the cells with a hygrometer (to measure their specific gravities) after the battery has sat uncharged (the engine off) for a few hours.
That said, however, if you just want to monitor your charging system and battery with a dash voltmeter, realize that your voltage regulator should actually vary the maximum batter charge based on temperature. When you first start out, you should find that your battery is being charged to about 14.3 volts (or more, in the winter) -- but as your engine compartment (and regulator, housed in your alternator) warms, you will find that it regulates to only about 13.8 (or less in very hot conditions). This is both proper and best for your battery -- if you check with Bosch books, and older "green" Volvo manuals (as well as MB manuals, etc.), you will find that they all show a graph revealing that the maximum appropriate voltage of your batter is temperature dependent -- higher in the cold, lower when warmer.
Note also that, dependent on the wiring that you use to hook up your voltmeter, it may not be that accurate (precise or consistent, yes, but accurate, maybe not) -- resistance rears its ugly head. Compare your dashboard voltmeter reading to a direct reading with a VOM on the battery's terminals -- then you'll know your "error" and be able to judge what's happening.
Regards
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