Great story and explanaton. Best I've read- thanks Shogun.
I was once baffled by an alternator in an e30 325i. It was not charging (making good voltage) at idle. The battery was not healthy and the alt light was coming on dimly and going out at higher revs. Loading the cars circuits made the light come on stronger. It turned out to be a diode pack, one or two of the three. Once new diodes were soldered in, it was cleaned, re-greased and reinstalled, she was back on the road again.