[Vwdiesel] Varta Blue Battery Blues

[mark shepherd]

Hi Guys,
Can anyone give me some info on my Varta Blue dynamic 'now with added calcium' ;o) battery. 
It's decided recently to only give a couple of attempts at starting. When chances are over; voltage is at about 12.5 to 12.7 under no load. Trying to crank, loading drops to 9V, biut immediately returns to 12.5 after.  My alternator in my 'Q' only puts out a little over 14V at best and 13.8V generally. Having said that, maybe a good battery would raise this voltage. I've had the battery for maybe 2 years [or more] with no issues.

 Funny advice on the internet which mentions maximum voltages not to be exceeded on the one hand and 16v required on the other 8o(
One unanswered question on the internet asked how can a calcium battery be used on any traditional system without dieing quickly?

Is my battery  dead/dieing? 

Mark