Expert: Josh Fields - 11/23/2005

Question
Just lately on my 1990 325is, I noticed that the radio and clock display appears to be "flickering" more noticable at night. Then I noticed that when I pulled into my garage one evening, my headlights were "flickering" too. Not very severely, but noticable. What might be the problem? I was thinking that bushings on the altenator might be wearing down.

Answer
Albert,
 Sound's like you dont need my help!  1 of 2 possible things is happening.  Either the Alternator is not making enought power to recharge the battery (like you said), or something is draining the system.  I think that you are probably right, that the alternator is the culprit.  
 If you want to test this, take a multimeter and test the voltage of the battery.  This should be around 12 Volts.  Start the engine, and check it again.... the voltage should have risen to around 13v - 13.5v.  If you do not see an increase in voltage, then your alternator is failing.

 Hope this helps,
 Josh