Low Power?

So I own a 1987 Dodge Ram (B-150 Van with a V-8) with about. 110k mi. On it.

Anyway I noticed a few nights ago that the electrical bits of the car are dimming then getting brighter again. Kind of like a flicker. It didn't bother me much at first because the lights would only dim when the car was stopped or going slowish. Once I got a little bit of speed the lights (both headlights/brights and the ones in the dash) got brighter again.

But now they're dimmer all time and while the car runs fine, it does unnerve me a little bit. And an interesting bit of information is that the CD player's lights don't dim at all.

And it's not just the lights, the wipers get slower, as do the blinkers, and my brake lights aren't as bright anymore either. It's also a little harder to start the car in the morning (takes the engine a few tries to start).

Any ideas?

Oh, and as a seperate concern, when I start the car up when it's cold, the engine makes sort of a "tickity-tickity" noise until the temperature gage gets to about the second notch (and stops raising).

That is all. Thank you.

-Z. De Mario