Car died and no start , amp gauge was on discharge ?

My Car wa srunning great then I noticed the aAMP gauge in the discharge area , the car started missing then died , I installed anew battery just to get it Home and nothing , the alternator (big wire held on by a nut) the back of the alternator stud / bolt is really loose and was smoking (the wire is OK) when the Engine died , my question , does the power have to go through the alternator to run? if I buy a new alternator should it start? why wont it turn ove rwith a new battery? somewhere the connection is broken right? where do I start looking? there was never any smoke or smell coming from the dash area , the AMP gauge is now in the center nut nothing moves when the key is on , the fueable links by the fender mounted relay look good , this is a 1968 Plymouth Fury , thanks again.

I would look at the amp gauge in the dash. If the connectors aernt fried you can pull one of the nuts off the studs and just put the two terminals togeather for testing. However It sounds like you may need an alternator after that.

So replacing the alternator isnt the problem? the power does not go through it to start the Car?

It goes through your amp gauge to the alternator. If the amp gauge is an open circut it won't start. Just jump the amp gauge wires. But with smoke coming out of the alt. terminal I don't know how much your alternator liked it. Jumping the amp gauge is an effective no cost way of diagnosis.

I'm not 100% sure on your car, but 99% of the time a crank no start on a mopar is a burnt amp gauge. I could be sending you down the wrong direction though.

lets start again.
with the new battery in, can you get head lights?
or dash lights, or interior lights?
if the answer is no, then you need to back track your wiring into the car and see if that fusible link is actually burned out but looks good.
If that is truly good(using a multi meter), then start checking power into the car.
The amp meter is a good place to look and see if you have power on one side but not the other, then as said above, just bypass it. disconnect the battery, take the nuts off and move one set of wires to the other side and bolt it back up again. check again for power.

IF you do have head lights and dash lights but it won't start, see if you have power to the ballast resistor and then try to jump the starter relay with the key in the run position.

You could try that even if you don't have dash lights, but you won't have power to the ballast, but it will try to turn over the starter, and you would know it is just something stopping power from getting into the passenger compartment.

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the AMP gauge is now in the center nut nothing moves when the key is on

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The ammeter is vertical & doesn't move a hair when you turn the key to "on"? Eng off: (1) See if the alt black large main feed wire to the bulkhead has near batt voltage where it enters the firewall bulkhead and (2) see if the fusible link has batt voltage where it enters the bulkhead. if (2) is dead check the FL for continuity. Fix (2) and see if the yellow "sol" wire at the starter relay has fire when the key turned to start. Then as said go under the dash & start with the ammeter & see if both sides are hot. I'd guess FL link fried internally