My car has had the famous vapor lock of the fuel pump since I've had it but along with it the alternator gets red hot in a matter of seconds. 30 seconds of running and I'm iffy about touching it. You can unplug it while the engines running wait 30 seconds and its cool enough to touch. Is this normal for a alternator to heat up that quick? With the headlights on, radio and what not at night it drops a little below 13. It also takes a little to long to start most of the time and idle isn't very consistent. It sometimes hunts or idles high.

 

Most parts stores offer free testing on alternators and starters. I would take it off and have it tested. Then you would know for sure if its bad or not. If gets red hot, maybe the bearings are shot in it. Does the alternator make any noise like squeeling or grinding? If you do take it off, turn the alternator pulley. the motion should be smooth.

 

yea I forgot to mention it does have a weird noise to it. It only seems to do it when its plugged up. The motor changes some when you unplug and plug it back up.

 

Can a Alternator charge and still be bad? Yes.
In the voltage regulator you have one way diodes that control the flow of electricity to the battery from the alternator. When these go bad, they keep the alternator "charged" even when the car is off, draining the battery. When you start the car, the alternator "rushes" to charge the discharged battery, possibility overheating alternator.