Focus 2000 ZX3: Alternator Problem?!?

[tonic1080]

I have a 2000 Ford Focus ZX3

I was driving to class the other morning when, idling at a stop light, my RPMs spiked about 1000 abover the norm (1000 rpm - 2000 rpm idle), after pulling through the intersection the dashboard goes dead but the engine is still running and everything else is going just fine (AC, stereo, windows, etc.). I drive 100 yards to a parking lot as the engine starts sputtering then dies and I coast into a parking spot.
So I thought the dash going out was wierd but the tank was really low, I was heading to get gas before class. The station was a block away and I had a small emergency tank in my trunk. I went and got a gallon of gas for the car and it fired right up just fine. Relieved I continued driving to the station to fill up but only got another 100 yards before it all happened again. First the dash goes dead (but I am still driving), then a minute later the engine dies.

Called friends and family, none of whom had ever had this happen before. Then I called the local dealership and they said it sounds like my alternator is going out. He said that, in many newer cars, the dash will turn off first to save the computer memory, then the rest of the car will soon follow. He gave me a quick quote of $350 for the alternator and a total quote of $550-$650 for parts and labor (range is if I have a single or double head, which I am unsure.

This sound true to anyone else? Any other diagnostics come to mind?

[Davescort97]

Start at the negative battery terminal and trace downstream on the grounds. Sure sounds like a ground problem. Fords have a multiple ground system instead of all grounds going back through the chassis. The gauge cluster is always the first thing to crap out when the grounds fail.