Use a multimeter set on AC volts (milli volt scale) Positive lead to alternator output wire and negative lead to battery ground. Do the test when no heavy electrical loads are applied (grid heaters, wiper motor, etc). Results should .05 milliamps or less. Personally, I think there are to many variables for this test to be reliable. Many people have performed the test, condemned and replaced their alternators only to find the AC noise still there.
More important is the routing and condition of vehicle electrical grounds. There is an inexpensive ground wiring modification called the W-T mod that is worth doing. It essentially provides shorter and better routes for ECM and PCM ground wiring as well as pulling out the alternator output wire from a long loom with other sensitive wiring and connecting the output wire to the passenger side battery instead of the driver side battery. Everyone that I have known to perform the W-T wiring mod has had reduced alternator AC noise afterward, including myself.
- John