Voltmeter light then dies?????

[Mike Sylvester]

It is common for the main positive wire that connects the alt to the battery
to fail at a splice in the passenger's footwell around the area where the
wire goes through the firewall.
Mike Sylvester


Brice wrote:
I went to the store tonight and the car was running fine. When I got out
of the car to go into the store I smelled a slight burnt smell. I
thought that it could be coming from another ar or from somewhere else.
I left the store and and started the car up fine and halfway home the
voltmeter warning light and the ABS orange light came on. The voltmeter
was reading real low at right under 1/4. It normally reads a little over
1/2. Then the cluster lights started getting real dim then the rear
brake warning light came on and then the car started  losing power and
died.
I checked all the fuses and they were OK.
I checked the plug wire connections and they were OK.
I checked the alternator belt and it was good and tight.
After about 5 minutes I tried the car again and it started up and I
drove it 1/4 mile and then the voltmeter lght came on and it lost power
and died.
I then pushed it home to my garage which was 1/2 mile away.
The plug wires are new Kingsbourne, the plugs are fairly new and are the
right ones and the battery is fairly new.
Any ides what it could be?
A bad alternator?
A bad solenoid?
Bad distributor teeth?
A burned out relay?