Dave240z

I'm not sure you really have to figure anything out at this point. The alternator, assuming you're using a Maxima or 280ZX IR type uses the same basic plugs as the original. The same "T" connector you pulled off your stock alternator plugs dirctly into the back of the IR alternator. The larger Red/White wire reconnects to the alternator "B+" stud just like the original as well. All you really need to do is jumper the harness connector as shown in the pic. One of the jumpers is just a simple wire with spade terminals and the other is a diode with spade terminals. The harness connector has a total of (5) wires although there are (6) slots available. The connector on my car consisted of the following colors, yours should be nearly identical if not the same. Connect the white wire to the yellow wire with the wire jumper. This connects the battery to the "S" input. Connect the black with a white stripe wire to the white with black stripe wire using the diode. This connects the "L" terminal to a switched 12V. The cathode end (end with white stripe) connects to the white with a black stripe wire and the anode end connects to the black with a white stripe wire. The black wire is simply Ground and can be left disconnected as I did, or if you feel the need to ground the alternator you can run a wire to the alternator case. Also, don't forget to re-install your filter capacitors if they were installed (you can see one in the pic I provided, there's another on the back of the alternator on my car). These help with radiated noise emissions but aren't essential for basic operation. I would advise checking this with a Voltmeter or at least a test light before proceeding and turning on the car though. Basically, the wire that reads positive (+12V) when you turn the key in the ignition to "ON" is the wire you want connected to the anode (non striped) end of the diode. The cathode end connects to the other striped wire. Here's the reason for all this if you care. The alternator needs what they call "excite current" to start generating electricity. This excite current energizes the field windings which allows the alternator to generate power once it is spinning due to electromagnetism. This excite current is provided by the black/white stripe wire when you turn the key to the "ON" position. The problem is that once the alternator is turning, it can sustain the "excite current" on it's own and no longer needs the current provided by the black/white stripe wire. If the black/white stripe wire is directly jumpered to the wire that is connected to the excite current the alternator will "send" current back through the black/white stripe wire, through the ignition and on to the coil which in turn, makes the car impossible to turn off since the alternator has basically bypassed they key. Adding a diode instead of a wire allows the current to flow FROM the black/white stripe wire into the alternator to excite it during startup. Once the car is running, and the alternator is generating it's own excite current, that current is not allowed to flow TO the black/white stripe wire because of the diode which has the unique property of only allowing current to flow one way.

You don't need to cut anything, all the jumpering can be done through the harnesss connector. The diode is quite important though to prevent the field charge from feeding back through the ignition thus preventing you from turning the car off.