I have a 1995 Chevy Caprice with about 100,000 mi. now and the only thing that's been acting up lately is the alternator. I'm just getting my 3rd one in a year put on! After the first one died I couldn't afford to have a new one put on so the mechanic got me ones from a junkyard and tested them ok. What made me hesitate to get a new one is he said if there's an electrical problem a new one could die as well. So I'm wondering if there's some unseen electrical problem that can't be found with diagnostics and how I can get to the bottom of this once and for all.

I have a 1997 Bonneville SE (40th anniversary edition) that is having a lighting problem. The LED light showing the radio station and the time display has quit working. It started going haywire in the last two weeks. At first it would work intermittently, sometimes on, sometimes off. Now it is not on at all. The other dashboard lights are not affected at all, just the one I mentioned so I don't think a fuse is involved. The radio has two independent sets of controls, one on dash and one on the steering wheel. Does this sound like a dealer only fix it and does it sound expensive to troubleshoot? I can live with it the way it is but would prefer not to. Thanks.