At startup I notice my display/overhead/and even headlights fluctuating from normal and then dimming slightly with no change in engine rpm; volt meter stays about 12, then goes to about 15 when driving; could this be battery, voltage regulator, or alternator?

 

Its the heater for the fuel, since we no longer have glow plugs they heat the fuel. The colder it is the longer it will do it.

totally normal

no worries

 

It is the intake air heater grid that sits below your intake horn (the thing your oil dipstick mounts to). This is normal. Do a search for this topic, you'll find hours of reading about it.

 

Normal. it is the air intake manifold grid heater drawing around 120 amps for about 5 seconds. The lights dim, then come back. it will quit once you start driving above a certain speed, or when the motor warms up.

So the answer to your question is...None of the above.

 

thanks for the input; guess I should have done a search first; atleast it's normal