Quick alternator question

[PrimerdFury]

I am in the midst of upgrading to a 130 amp alternator...when I removed the large D-plug it only has the 2 black/orange wires attached and no third wire. All the tech articles I have read said there is supposed to be 3 wires to the big one and no I'm not confusing it with the other connector that goes to the alternator that is supposed to only have 2 wires. Any ideas on how to wire my new 130 amp alt...?? I heard the yellow wire on the smaller plug is the same thing as my missing wire but I'm not sure. Also...how the hell did my car run with the third wire missing. Sorry this 'quick question' got out of hand...any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PrimerdFury]

snooglehyphen

 

[MustangLX-5.0]

The end of the world is not near.You can now relax. Electrical problems can be a mess to deal with.I've had way more than my fair share of them.And after 2 months of dealing with one in particular,I wanted to mutilate that car.

As for those alternator wires....There are 2 plugs on your alternator.The one with the 2 black w/orange stripe wires coming from it is your alternators voltage output source.This connects to the internal diodes.That's what the 2 black wires are.They merge into 1 wire and connect to the starter solenoids battery terminal.The other plug on the alternator is the voltage regulator.There is supposed to be a 3rd white wire coming from the voltage out plug going to the regulator plug.On some alternators,this wire isn't needed,as the 2 circuits are connected internally.The green wire on the regulator plug goes to the AMP indicator on the dash.The yellow wire goes to a fuse link then merges with the Voltage Out wire near the starter solenoid.This wire MUST be connected in order for your alternator to provide output.

G.....I hope this was not too confusing for you.

 

[PrimerdFury]

Not too complicated...thanks for the response. The yellow wire is connected to my new alternator...my only problem is that I don't have a white wire to connect to it...but to my knowledge the alternator off the 95 mustang needs it...and if it doesn't than why is mine seemingly different than everyone else's..especially the people who wrote the tech articles?

 

[jrichker]

See the following website for some help from Tmoss (diagram designer) & Stang&2Birds (website host) for help on 88-90 wiring

Look at the connector with the yellow & green wires. There should also be a white/black wire. Connect it to the alternator according to your wiring instructions.

Some people will tell you that you can skip the wiring upgrade to 4 gauge wire, but it will catch up with you sooner or later. A fire in the wiring harness is ugly and expensive.

Under no circumstances connect the two 10 gauge black/white wires to the 3G alternator. If the fuse blows in the 4 gauge wire, the two 10 gauge wires will be overloaded to the point of catching fire and burning up the wiring harness.

 

[PrimerdFury]

does an 86 stang have different wiring? For instance no white/black wire? I have no idea why it would be different but I can't find a white/black wire...

 

[PrimerdFury]

i get it now...the white wire simply goes from one alternator plug to the other plug in the alternator. I thought it went somewhere else on the car...not just making a little loop. Thanks guys