Lucky you got home without assistance. Not so lucky removing maybe but job now done and you must have benefitted from the experience. The 10.2 volts you measured was the battery BTW, the alternator would have likely been making no contribution
Imagine something worse with a Motorola alternator on a Teledyne Continental light aircraft engine. With three passengers onboard smoke started entering cockpit. Declared emergency and landed at nearest airport. Ground run up revealed no obvious issues but charge current intermittent. Shed as many electrical loads as possible and made it to intended destination in South of France. Also made it back to base at Bournemouth the following day where a near complete meltdown of alternator stator windings was discovered
