ok, i have a tuned port 305 in my 89 nissan pickup. i'm trying to figure out how to hook up my alternator. i know i have to run a wire to the big lug on the alternator to the battery for the charge wire. but i get confused after that.

i'm not sure of the model number for my alternator. it is chrome plated and there isn't a number on it anywhere that i can find. but it looks like this:

the way i got it was by calling a company i found on ebay and telling them i needed a chrome alternator for a 1989 camaro with tpi it is supposed to be souped up to 200 amps.

the plug in the back of the alternator has 4 pins, but only one wire. does that go to a switched 12v source for excitation voltage?

i'm using autometer gauges so i'll have a voltmeter instead of a light.

will this work properly with only 2 wires connected?

 

snap a pic of the connector on the back of the alternator. It sounds like you have a cs series alternator and will require a different pigtail. I can't go any further without knowing what series alternator you have.

 

it is without a doubt a cs130. i found a link buried in a thread that had picture and desriptions. the only wire coming out of the pigtail is a brown one. a friend told me to hook it to a switched 12 volt source and run it through an idiot light. the alternator supplies ground for the idiot light when the key is switched on and when the alternator starts charging, the circuit opens, removing the ground for the light which then goes out. and of course the big one from the alternator to the battery. does all this sound right?

 

You can do that or run an ignition wire to the gauge and the brown wire to the other side. This will give you the resistance you need to start the alternator charging. Either way will work.