Electrical System advice needed...

[DrLou]

Benz Friends,

Wanted to run by all of some recent symptoms - someone will surely have some thoughts on this:

First: I definitely need to replace my alternator - got a burning smell a few days ago, and now no charging.

Meanwhile, I've been trying to charge 'er up with an external battery charger, and am seeing weird stuff:
The red dashboard 'battery indicator' light remains on, all the time, while charging. It alone is clearly draining some power. Why would it even be on with the charger connected?

Through all this, I cannot seem to get a decent charge into the battery.

So, assuming I have a short somewhere which is draining all charge, I've removed all fuses one by one to try to isolate an offending circuit. No Joy! There doesn't appear to be any fused circuit at fault here! Huh?

Of course, I'm now wondering if some short is putting huge load on the alternator, and may be the root cause of my problems.

Hmmm... How to diagnose? Just happen to have read a thread about the auxiliary fan relay sapping juice. Any such thoughts? Where best to start?

Many thanks in advance. Lou