I have a F150 97 4.2l 4X4 100,000 miles standard manual transmission.

I’m leading up to the problem I have now.

Some how the oil filter became loose and sprayed oil all underneath the engine. Fixed it. Decided to use to go to the manual car wash to spray down the engine using the car wash's engine cleaner. Was told my the employee that the water was hot, for it was about 5 degrees outside. While spraying the engine cleaner then washing down the cleaner with hot water the waster became cold then everything became frozen. All the sudden the truck tried start in gear, forgot to take it out of gear and forgot to put on the parking brake. So the pickup drives out of the car wash heading to a busy intersection. I drop the sprayer run after the truck jump in put the keys in the ignition and decide to head over to my mechanic. Find out the starter shorted out, why, unknown, happen when ice had formed underneath the car engine. Replaced the starter. Then Alternator self destructs, bearings just fall apart. I make it to my mechanic, I buy a new Alternator and new battery. Alternator is not charging, volt meter is reading around 11. I take the alternator to the parts store, bench test shows the out put to be just under 15. Parts store says to look at the grounding. If there is any oil on the negative ground, that could be the problem. My mechanic who is a truck mechanic says the oil shouldn’t be a problem.

Is oil on the negative ground a problem or do I have other issues?

Thanks in-advance.

JB