Possible alternator whine?

[tornado_735]

I am beginning to notice a whine from under the hood. It isn't too bad, but it gets louder when there is a heavy strain on the battery. The times it is the worst is at idle, when I have the headlights or the rear defroster on. It's not annoyingly loud, but it's definitely there. Also, when sitting at idle, I can see the headlights...not exactly flicker, but dim and brighten every few seconds.

 

Might this be indicative of an alternator that is possibly on it's way out?

 

I have no other charging issues that I know of, and I do not have any numbers (voltage wise) yet.

[Andrew]

sounds like it to me. Also look for your gauges to do very strange things.

 

meanwhile check and clean your battery connections.