So I've had a rather frustrating night trying to get my alternator working. Since 2 alternators arent working, both test good, and I know the 1 worked before I pulled the motor, I've turned to wiring.
First I added a 0 guage wire from the alternator to the battery + terminal. I left the stock large red wire on the alternator connected. When I went to reconnect the + terminal to the battery, the starter engaged with the key removed. Same happens if connected to fuse box. Connected the fuse box to the battery + terminal. nothing happens.
Next I removed the stock power plug from the alternator and ran the wire from the alternator to the battery. I was able to connect the terminals with no issues, and was able to start the car with the key.
Now I know while a car is off and the windows are rolled up the headlights will dim and stay dim. With this setup the lights dimmed for about 0.5 seconds and quickly became bright again. This leads me to believe the alternator is working with that setup, though I dont have my multimeter handy to confirm this.
So either the batt to alternator wires are broken or not connected somewhere, or the starter is wired wrong.
The large red wire and the 2 small red wires (previous owner spliced to black wires of same guage using heat shrink and solder) that share the same connection are on the top prong. The purple wire which I know is correct is on the tiny terminal. The medium red wire (same story as the small red wires, appears orange in pic) is connected to the bottom terminal. Is this the correct wiring?
Thanks in advance.