strange stuff. Started car after sitting for a few weeks and the alternator belt cooked and broke with some horrible smoke. So I swapped in a used alternator from a junkyard that had some scrape sounds to it but the guy said it would be fine. The car now makes a whine sound, could this be the used alternator? But it works!

Then...Accidentally left the lights on and the battery went dead. A guy I work with said he would jump it and I assumed he knew how to hook it up, as I know. There was some corrosion on the positive terminal of the battery but I didn't think too much about it. But when I turned around he had hooked up his running truck in reverse to my battery. He put the negative into my positive and connected his positive to my frame. I told him no and smoke was starring to come from somewhere, I think where the positive was connected. I had never seen this before, but...we unhooked and recooked and tried to start the car. It started then he unhooked it and it sputtered and died. So I guessed it may need more time to start and maybe the battery had been cooked? But t stared up again and we left it hooked up for a few minutes and then I drive home. I wasn't sure if it would start the next day and it didn't. So I jumped it and it fired right up. At a stop sign I got out and on instinct I took some needle nose pliers and tried to tighten the battery terminals. I couldn't so I whacked the positive on a few times. I was thinking that maybe it didn't charge in my commute home because of the corrosion?

Continuing driving to work I put in the radio and the speedo dropped needle off and back up a few times before it dropped to zero. I was doing hiway speed. I noticed a few seconds later the dash lights were very dim. So I killed the radio and fan and crossed my finger I would make it. I did.
When at work, I was thinking I would need another jump to get to a parts store to get a new battery, that maybe it had been damaged on my long drive right before the alternator went. Tha the alternator must have been not charging it enough and the combo of the lights left in and the reverse hook up killed it. But at lunch I snuck out and it started right up no problem.

So to recap: whirring sound after replacement alternator. ( is that bad or a sign of impending failure? The junkyard guys said to spray it with wd40 before installing it so I did. The old alternator was seized but I managed to free it with a vice and some one elbow grease although I think I damaged the pulley with the pipe wrench...) Weird electronics with speedo cutting out and then coming back on when I turned off the radio. Battery not charging but then working like nothing was wrong after whacking the connectors? Or maybe something else happened?

thanks in advance!

Update. Was working fine, but then turned on headlights and the dash dimmed and flickered out. So I turned off headlights.
Also, just got gas and it wouldn't start, needed a jump.
There is powdery stuff on the positive battery terminal. I will clean it off tonight and charge the battery and see if that helps.

do you think the pulsing idle when I put it into park after a long drive is something else?
and the whining sound that rises and falls with the engine rpms?

thanks again for the help!

Update. Cleaned off the battery terminals and reconnected it and tightened it down. Charged the battery overnight and all seemed well. But then it didn't start after work on Friday, ugh! Got a jump and drove home, then it started fine the next day...WTF?! Haven't tested the alternator yet, dont have the equipment. But had the battery tested and advance autoparts said it only had 130 cranking amps and it should be replaced. So I went to the boneyard and got a used one, seems to start fine for now.
Only thing is it is a 51 battery, the guy said it would fit and be ok and even installed it. Leaving off the plastic top part. But he did clamp it down. Seems ok so far...
how important is that. Plastic top part?
the battery said 4/18 on it. My old one was from 2011, that's 7 years...

Oh and thanks for all the help on here. I like this old car, just wonder if I can get it to be a bit more reliable...!

Recycling is in my blood!

Ok, I have one somewhere...
i am guessing I need to check all the wires for voltage drops. Is that the same as checking for resistance when the car is not running?

New detail...had been running fine with no radio or headlights. Until I got a meter I was judging by the starting sound. Very fast cranking so I figured I wasn't running anything down. Then today, almost at work and the battery light flashes on and off. Then again. Then it came on and stayed on. I don't think this happened before, the battery was just run down but no warning lights that it wasn't charging. Clue?
i need to drive home. Does the battey lit mean the alternator is not putting out enough charge or that the fuse has popped or that a wire isn't making good contact?

also...for a poor man's on board voltmeter, could I take some sort of fitting into the cigarette lighter so I can problem with a meter what the charging voltage is at that moment? I was thinking I could use an old car charge but they may have some sort of gimmicky thing in there to convert voltage. Maybe some sort of adapter and cut the wires from it and then use my little multimeter to probe when weird stuff starts to happen? Would that work? Thanks

,can I test it at th cigarette lighter somehow? It seems this problem is intermittent so I thought if I knew 14 volts vs 12 or less it may help both with trav long and with diagnosing. I could do it while in the car and not need to pop th hood too...what do you think?

gonna try to make it home, hoping the battery light stays off...and tha it starts. It only came on over the last half mile but with traffic it was maybe five minutes...should be ok, maybe?!

The intermittent part is so frustrating, I thought it had stopped until today.

I have an old micronta voltmeter, will try tonight. The battery light flicked ona. Couple of times tonight in the way home, mostly at lower rpms I noticed. I also have the replacement alternator that tested good at autozone, so maybe I will try to swap it in. I'm so tired. Have to work at 7 am, so...gonna be a tough night. Thanks against n for the support.

Oil, borrowed a meter. Took off the ground from the battery and cleaned up the part that connects to the car and also the wire that connects the top of the engine to the frame in the front. Small steps for me in starting to try to figure this out. And the light did not come on on my 40 minute commute this morning. I will test the output to the battery this afternoon and try to catch it if the light goes in too. Thanks again for the help!

Have to stay late at work...looks like I'll need to drive home with headlights...should be interesting, fingers crossed. Have been avoiding using lights and turn signals to save electric current! Borrowed a better meter, will take some measurements later today too. Thanks!

Wow that's a lot of go go juice! I was wondering about that. I don't brake too much...maybe less now!
made it home, even used low beams for last 15 minutes. Pulled in and jumped out and used the meter, outage running at the battery is 14.3. After I turned it off 13.8.
No batter lights in this trip.
How do I find it now, or do I have to wait for it to act up,again? Thanks in advance for all ththe support.

previous symptoms...flickering dash lights, not a super fast crank but it started every time all winter and summer until it started to overheat going up a big hill and I parked it for a month. When I tried to start it the alt belt broke with lots of smoke. Alt was seizedI accidentally left the lights on and some goofball tried to jump it but hooked it up backwards, not sure if that was the start of all of this or if maybe the alternator was fading anyways...now not sure what to do...but I don't have classes nfidence in the charging system or driving at night.

how much do led brake ligh S and headlights save in juice? Easy to retrofit? New cars are covered in them, eh?