Mileage is indeed 33500, and they've been easy miles. The car was maintained at its original dealership by the first owner until I bought it at just under 18000 miles on the clock. Always garaged. Hell, still smells like a new car.

I, too, wouldn't expect an alternator to go bad at this mileage, but considering the age of the car nothing would really surprise me. :-)

Two things make me think it might be the alternator itself rather than the voltage regulator. First, the whining noise that appeared as soon as the battery light came on. Second, I noticed a bit of a "burned electrical" smell under the hood when the problem resurfaced. But on second thought that could be the VR, too.

Maybe I'll try the VR replacement first. I think I had assumed that the voltage regulator was integral to the alternator. Never good to assume. :-/

Thanks for the good counsel!

-Chris