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An old-fashioned way to see if the alternator is bad:
With engine running, disconnect the ground lead to attery for about 2 seconds, if engine dies, then the alternator is gone.
The reason is: when engine running, even without a battery, the alternator provides the current needed for spark.
Now w/o the battery, if the alt is good, no problem.
Now w/o the battery, if the alt is BAD, no sparks, engine dies.
Do not disconnect the ground cable too long (a very very very small risk of spike that can affect electric system).
I have performed this test many times on many cars (Honda, Volvo, BMW) and everytime it accurately diagnose the alternator to be the CULPRIT (if engine dies when gound cable disconnected and the alt is truely bad).
cn
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