Chevrolet Repair: 1999 s-10 6 cyc, defective alternator, wire trace

Question
What do I need to  fix   my 99 s10 6 cyc.yesterday I went out and bought a new battery and alt,because my battery lite came on.So after replacing the battery and alt. the battery lite went off,but now the volt gauge is reading 12 volts so i drove it over to my moms and now it dead.And it's only a 16 mile drive..Can't understand what could cause this?What would this cost to diagnose

Answer
GOOD DAY AARON ,WELL LETS BACK UP, WHEN YOU REMOVED THE POSITIVE CABLE OFF THE ALT [RED WIRE] WHEN YOU REMOVED THE OLD ALT DID YOU REMOVE THE BATTERY CABLES FROM THE BATTERY FIRST ?? IF NOT DID YOU LAY THAT WIRE ON ANY GROUND SURFACE THAT CAUSED A SPARK ?? IF NOT THIS GOOD. IF YOU DID GET A SPARK MORE THEN LIKELY THE FUSE-ABLE LINK IS BLOWN.. DO YOU HAVE A TEST LIGHT TO CK FOR POWER,OR A VOLT METER..JUST CK FOR 12 VOLTS ON THE MAIN WIRE GOING TO THE BACK OF THE ALT,[RED WIRE]IF THERE IS POWER HERE THEN THE LINK DID NOT BLOW. IF NO POWER TO THE WIRE TRACE THIS WIRE BACK TO THE POSITIVE SIDE OF THE BATTERY AND YOU WILL SEE A FUSE-ABLE LINK ON THIS WIRE THAT IS BAD..REPLACE THIS LINK WHICH YOU CAN GET AT ANY PART STORE..SO LETS SAY THERE IS POWER THERE AND THE 2 WIRE PLUG IS PLUGGED INTO THE BACK OF THE ALT,TURN THE KEY ON, DO NOT START IT,IF THE BATTERY LITE IS ON MORE THEN LIKELY YOU HAVE A DEFECTIVE ALTERNATOR..WE KNOW THIS LITE DOES WORK AS PER YOUR INFO ABOVE..SO TO RECAP,IF YOU HAVE 12 VOLTS ON THE RED WIRE AND THE  AND THE 2 WIRE PLUG IS PLUGGED IN THE ALT,MORE THEN LIKELY THE ALT IS FAULTY...VERY COMMON ON REMANUFACTURED ALTERNATORS. BUT IF YOU STILL WANT TO GET THIS DIAGNOSED IT SHOULD COST YOU ABOUT 45.00 TO CK THE CHARGING SYSTEM,,,OR JUST REMOVE THE ALT AND TAKE IT BACK TO THE STORE AND HAVE THEM PUT ON ON THERE MACHINE AND HAVE THEM CK IT FOR FREE ...LET ME KNOW HOW YOU MAKE OUT, GOOD LUCK TO YOU,,,TOM..