wierd alternator issue

i went mudding yesterday and got a good splash of the nasty under the hood. it didnt stall, all my accessories still worked, so i didnt think much of it. after stopping at my girls house i headed doen the road about an hour later and i noticed that my voltmeter was only charging to the first white line barely past the "9". and although i was really concerned that i was going to end up needing a tow, i made it all the way home no problem. its about a 30 minute drive to the ggirls house and i decided to risk it again last night to resolve some things so i knew i would have to make it atleast another hours worth of driving. i figure at this point i am just running off of the battery because my headlights are dim and when i use the radio it cuts off after about 10 seconds. but the motor keeps on running. i tried cutting it off while it was rolling cause at this point the gauge says that it shouldnt even start. but sure enough it turns right over. i have already cleaned all the mud out from under the hood, i did that before i left lastnight. it didnt make a difference. i have had more alternator probs thatn anything else since i have started driving. nothing in my experience under the hood says that this thing should even turn over once. whats the deal:eyes:

the alternator sits pretty low on the engine. in factory form ,there is a rubberized shield that protects the engine components from a lot of the enviorment. unfortunatly it seems like most of these deteriorate and fall off or hang down and are removed. it is possible that what happened is that you alternator had some mud packed inside it. normally water just kinda drains out so it will keep going.but the mud may have kept moisture in there long enough that may be shorting things out. i have a piece of sheet metal that i placed just under the alternator on the "frame" that keeps stuff from getting in there. some one else will need to sound up on this but you may be able to spray the alternator down more directly and wash out the junk. but i would remove the battery terminal first so you don't cause a bigger short. out here in so cal i don't usully get much mud normally. and as i get older, i just don't like cleaning the suff off! lol, so i stay away from our local mudpit in azuza canyon.
good luck, keep us posted.