mrfixit
Chief Chaotic Engineer
A shorted cell in the battery is a possibility. or worse... the elusive SHORTING cell, that only shorts once in a while, from a plate that is loose, but not free (kind of like Tony's women... come to think of it, they may be short too... or short circuited... but I digress)
There's a number of unresolved questions here: If that is burned, WHY did it burn? Was the regulator not operating properly? did your ammeter short out? did gremlins attack? Also had you taken it down to the Chief Auto or one of those places, I think they test em for free... and a new alternator WILL have a burned smell to it, sometimes, as those techs with their soldering irons are not always right on the money, plus just the initial break-in period of toasting all that fresh bakelite and laquer.
There's a number of unresolved questions here: If that is burned, WHY did it burn? Was the regulator not operating properly? did your ammeter short out? did gremlins attack? Also had you taken it down to the Chief Auto or one of those places, I think they test em for free... and a new alternator WILL have a burned smell to it, sometimes, as those techs with their soldering irons are not always right on the money, plus just the initial break-in period of toasting all that fresh bakelite and laquer.