After not driving for 2 days, my ZHP was dead. Like, REALLY dead. Not the faintest sign of interior lights-dead. I think my dying cluster is draining it. However, it hasn't been an issue for several weeks. After jumping the car (rip battery), I found the alternator was putting out only about 12.8V at idle. This was after a decent amount of driving, maybe 20 miles. When I revved it up somewhat it went to 13.6V, but settled back at 12.8V.
The battery and alternator are both relatively new, less than a year old. The alternator was a new, non-remanufactured OEM Bosch unit. The battery was a new Diehard H8 AGM. The engine grounds are in good shape.
Is it normal for the alternator to die so fast?? It was /not/ cheap. It is not cold here. I drive almost every day.