Is this an alternator problem??

[bhatt]

I have a 92 500SEL. Bought it with approximately 110,000 miles, and it now has 150,000 miles. Not sure what was replaced before I bought the car, but I know I haven't touched the alternator since I bought it.

Replaced the battery 2 months ago because it wasn't holding a charge. Car would run fine but not start the next morning, especially when it was cold. This fixed the problem. Not sure this is related to my problem, but thought I'd mention it in case it helps.

Now a couple of months later, I'm finding a new problem. I have what I think is low voltage, because:

1. The SRS light is starting to come on more often and stays on until I shut off and restart the car.
2. Started the car on a cold day and fired up the heated seats and rear defrost. When I hit the window button, the front 2 channels of the Bose amp cut out until I let go of the window switch.
3. Noticed last 2 weeks that the heated seat doesn't heat up as much as it used to. Putting it on high now makes it heat up less than it used to on low!

This stuff all tells me that I may have a low voltage problem with the alternator. I'm guessing I have a 150,000 mile alternator that is original to the car, and it's now starting to die.

BUT.....

I checked the battery voltage with the car at idle and it's between 14.0 and 14.1 volts!

So I guess there is no point in ordering a new voltage regulator and installing it, since I had originally thought that was the problem.

Any ideas what is causing this 'low voltage' issue? Something is definitely "dying", I just don't know what it is and don't want to wait till it happens!

Neal