Replaced the alternator and everything is working swimmingly. (graham&shannon replaced the alternator 3 times, not me.)

Looks like I'm the 1 in 25 or 50 190s that actually had a bad alternator. But everything is fine now.

And I am praising my stars that this is not a Honda. 10x easier to work on an older Merc than an older Honda.

Incidentally, my dad is experiencing some strange noises on his '99 Honda CR-V. Anybody know of any good forums for later model Hondas?

Thanks everyone,

Gabe