Pulling a battery cable with the engine running can create voltage spikes of over 100V in a fractrion of a second- - - -bad juju on transistors and diodes! I've seen it on oscilloscopes on numerous occasions. The regulator bypass trick will usually determine whether the problem is with the basic alternator or the regulator, but beyond that, the unit needs a bench test.
Jerry

"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!