during an approach to taos in the middle of a snow shower my alternator switch popped out

tried to reset a couple of times but kept turning itself down

used the back up alternator but had to keep the radios on during the instrument approach which had to be terminated since the runway got full of slush and 4 inches of snow so to santa fe

the electricians detected a hot alternator and for 48 hrs tried to diagnose the problem

apparently the alternator is not shutting itself of

checked the voltage regulator the switch, the alternator and could not come up with an answer

went back to dallas VFR with all radios off and handheld GPS with the backup alternator providing enough juice

any ideas will be appreciated

dont know much about damn electrons....

andres IV-P alternator is almost new 40 hrs since new