What a rasslin' match to get that little devil off.

Took it out from the alternator and checked the condition of the brushes and connections and such and found no visible problems. Is there any particular test to see if it's door-nailed, or is it a case of "if it blows it would be visibly apparent"?

Getting it back on was worse than getting it off as I had to pretty much go by "feel". If I do this again, I'll make sure I have enough time to take the alternator completely off and work on a bench instead.

Any other trouble shooting tips to tell whether or not it's the regulator rather than the whole alternator?

TIA

Patrick