after rebuilding the top end on my '94 vision tsi, i was driving it to my other house to pick up some tools in it. on the way back it stalled at a light, no prob. i just started it back up. then two minutes later the car just died. right before it died, i thought i heard the engine squeal. i called a friend and i tried to jump it. but before i jumped it, i tested the battery and it had 12volts even. we tried jumping it, but w/ no luck. then i called aaa to tow it to my house. once it got home, i checked the battery to see if it had any water in it. to my amazment, it was dry. so i knew that battery was toast. i tried another battery and the started was just clicking. so i took it out and tested it w/ the battery and i just saw the solenoid only being activated, but not turning. right now i dont know what it is that made the car die...i know it has to be electrical not fuel related.
on a side note...when i was trying to jump my car, i smelt wiresburning and saw smoke come out under the exaust manifold where the starter is...is this a sign of the starter being bad...or do i have a short somewhere?
thanks

The car not starting when jumped has nothing to do with the battery or alt. Jumping it ignores those two variables. You are just directly feeding the starter all the power it needs.

The issue is with the starter, or the wiring to it. There might be other issues that caused the stall. But for now, work on getting it started, and go from there.

one of my main concerns is how/why it stalled out. after i first stalled at the light. i had trouble starting it again. then when i did get it started, i believe i was just running off of the battery. thats why i heard a squealing sound when it stalled out the second time. what do you think?

Does it start now then?

If you have a voltmeter, hook it up while the car is runing, and see what voltage you get.

i would do that...but now i cant get it started. i'm goin to put the starter back in the car and see if i can get it started. then i'll test the output of the alt. is it suppost to be like 13v/14v?

13.8v