For the first time my 190E has left me stranded the other night. Here's the lowdown. I was driving on the freeway and started to notice my dash light going dim. Because there was still some light outside and the car continued to drive normally, I didn't think much of it. When I got to my destination I noticed the ABS light came on and then the SRS light. After a while I got back into my car and the car started and I drove to a gas station, got gas and went on my way home. a few miles down I noticed my dash lights were very dime and the ABS/SRS lights came on. Next thing I knew the car seemed to be losing power and I eventually coasted to the curb. Turned on the hazard lights, and at first the green arrows were blinking but very weakly but then they gave out indicating the hazard lights went out. I called my 24-hour emergency hotline and while I waited for a tow truck, I looked inside the hood. Nothing seemed amiss. After a while I cranked the car and noticed I had some power back on but not enough to fully crank the engine. A bit more waiting and I tried again and the car fired up. So I drove maybe a half mile and same thing happened...dimming lights and car died before I could make a right turn into a more residential street. I had all the symptoms of a dead battery, yet strange that after waiting a bit power would come back on and I am able to crank the car.

I did an archive search when I got home and found these could be the possible culprits:

alternator--hope not, major $$$!
voltage regulator--hope so, sounds cheap to replace
battery--not likely because Interstate battery is fairly new
OVP relay--what is that and what does it do?

if it is the VR, can I access it from the top or do I need to drop the belly pan and get it from below?

On a side note, I requested a flatbad, and I noticed the guy strapped the two chain hooks to the piece that links the suspension and wheel. Is this okay?

So bummed out...thanks, guys.