@oldtimer 11 There’s nothing to be confused about. A couple of month ago I had to replace the battery. At that time - the old alternator was load tested at the auto parts store where I bought the battery. At that time the old alternator “passed” whatever load test their machine does on it. I bought a battery & went on my way. Its not part of this story. Its only backdrop info to anticipate questions about the battery & such.
To describe why I suspected a dead alternator is a longer story than what I initially wrote. Suffice it to say that whatever the alternator was producing wasn’t enough to run the car or keep any kind of charge on the battery. I was 15 miles from home without a meter in a dead car. I didn’t ask the shop for the specifics of how they checked things out. It is a fully equipped shop and a simple matter. I’ve been using the shop for a long time.
Anyway, thanks FordMan & oldtimer for the ideas. I’m hunting.