You need all 3 wires hooked up. That is the reason they put 3 wires on
it.

One feeds the battery power, one senses voltage level and one 'excites'
or turns on the alternator's magnetic field.

Folks can make pretty good trail arc welders by bypassing the regulator
on those alternators..... I sure wouldn't want that feeding my battery
or electronics.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's
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CGBear wrote:
>
> Should the alternator still charge even if the wires aren't hooked to
> the regulator? Or do you have to have one wire with power going to the
> regulator?