I hate my car...it hates me =(

Well, I have posted several times about battery issues with my car and now it seems to have hit an all-time low:

Now the battery light is on ALL the time. I THOUGHT it was my amp so I disconnected my amp and reattached the battery terminals and BAM! It's STILL on!

I went to Pepboys thinking they would check it out for no fee and the ******* goes "hmmmm...20 bucks." I told him I don't think so and left the store. How rediculous! Most shops won't charge a penny to check the battery and alternator! How obserd...

So does this mean my battery or my alternator are shot? This battery light has been an issue for a year now...I'm fed UP!

hotmustang, thanks for the reply. Here are my responses:
"try and shut your car off with the lights on, if they dim QUICK and the battery gets weak quick, but when you fire it up they go bright again, then your batter is bad" Everything seemed fine. No dimming of lights. Fired right back up.

"if you have problems with your battery dieing when driving down the road at night with the lights on (cars is running of course) then its your altinator." I never had a prob with the battery dying. Just when my bass would hit, the lights may dim a SLIGHT bit.

Now here is an update: I had my amp wired to the extension of the batter, not directly to the battery. I now see that it is the fuse box and that is where the alternator gets its power from. So I got mad at my car and decided that we had to spend quality time together. I drove her around for 10 minutes and NO battery light! Normally it would flash at LEAST once, if not pop up the whole ride.

Now, how should I go about hooking up my amp to the battery? Is there a piece that people use to splice directly to the battery?