I have a 1994 318i with US specs that I recently purchased from a private owner and would like a little help from the group to diagnose an electrical issue.
- The alternator appears to be a 105A Valeo
- Most of the time (but not all the time), I notice a slight pulsating of all lights - headlights, odometer LEDs, interior lights, etc.
- The pulsating is sometimes made worse by increasing the electrical loads, sometimes not.
- Every now and then, the backlight for the onboard computer display will go very bright for 2-3 seconds and then the instrument cluster will go dead and reset itself.
- Sometimes the check engine or ABS fault light switches come on briefly and turn off.
Based on posts here and elsewhere, I suspect the voltage regulator or alternator. So, I did a load test in the car while measuring battery voltage:
At idle: ~14V All electrical loads on and at idle: ~12.6V All electical loads on and at 2000rpm: ~ 14V
Does anyone have any insight into whether it is the alternator, regulator, or both? Also, I understand the Valeo alternators are not very reliable. Should one even bother fixing one or just replace it with a Bosch?
Thanks!