Mitsubishi Repair: 98 Mirage 1.5L bad alternator?, alternator voltage regulator, black boxes

Question
hello, my 98 mirage 1.5l started running off of the battery 2 weeks ago and drained battery.  tested alternator and was bad.  replaced twice with junkyard alternators and both unsuccessful.  now has brand new alternator, and still runs off of the battery.  got a battery charger and battery charged and amps are normal.  used a pin light on alternator positive cable terminal and lights up.  it has power to it.  but will not run off of alternator.  i'm running out of ideas.  please help.  thanks!!  if you need any additional info, just ask.  thanks again!

Answer
Mike: I would check the belt that runs the alternator to make sure it is good or out of adjustment., alternator voltage regulator inoperative, could have loose, broken or faulty wiring in the charging circuit, a sensor is out, or a bad relay. Are you sure the cables on the battery are good, and or that all the wires are hooked up on the alternator. I remember a guy that bought his car to the shop, having problems. We found that he broke off a wire when hooking up the alternator and therefore it was not working with the battery. So check all the wires to make sure they ok and hooked up. When you open the hood of your car, looking at the engine there should be one, two or three small black boxes, with one up by the firewall on the driver's side of the car. With one or two on the other side of the engine. In those boxes are relays and larger fuses, one of those might be bad too. Oh hey if you replace one of those larger fuses or relays, remove the neg. cable off the battery and then replace the fuse or relay; then put the cable back on. Hope this helps and good luck! Linda