I just lost another alternator and it was in a similar situation as last time. I left the car idling with a heavy load on it - the marine batteries I have in the back of my camper van were running low so I left the engine running while I cooked my breakfast in a 350 watt cooker. The combo of pulling max amps from the alt while the van is stationary seems to be the killer.

Luckily I have an extra alt with me now, but I'd like to fix the one I'm taking out. What goes bad under these conditions, anyway? I don't have a power steering leak - the alt is dry, shiny, and only a few weeks old. The weather here has been cool and dry.