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Took it to a local alt rebuild guy and everything was toast in it except the stator. Turns out it's a 15si which is pretty strong, he rebuilt it to new condition and the car is now charging like a dream. 14.5 at idle! Apparently if the gen light is on while the car is off it's the diode trio that's trashed FYI.

After the rewire my alt is still showing the gen light on with the car off. Looks like it's time for a new alt...

Like this Larry? That's what I'm in the process of doing right now... But this wiring is an absolute nightmare! I found the #2 wire from the ALT going to the starter!! Then I found the #1 wire from the alt going to the #4 on the external regulator! What is going on!!! I'm assuming the starter just needs a ground, a sensing wire from the ignition and the positive lead from the battery?

Thanks for that, definitely not the same as mine. I believe mine is indeed an internally regulated alt still running through the external regulator. I'll rewire it once I get the chance and report back.

I planned on going to an internally regulated one anyways but I was under the impression that if the 2 plug harness on the alt had the pins shaped the way mine are its internally regulated? I think the previous owner might have changed the Alt and didn't know the difference... I thought the original alts for these cars had the plug shaped like this [||] where's mine is like this [--] With it wired the way it is, if I unplug the 2 wire harness at the alt the gen light goes out when the car is off. If the car is running and the harness is plugged in, the alt makes a louder whirring noise that goes away when it's unplugged too.

I just picked up my Monte a week ago and it has had a charging issue since I've had it. My battery, while it's running reads 12.8 volts, doesn't matter if I raise RPM's. Also, the "gen" light stays on while the car is off and no key in the ignition. When I start the car it turns off. Now I've done some research and it looks like I have an internally regulated alternator as the 2 wire plug is like this [--] instead of like this [iI]. I was under the impression that if it is internally regulated, I should bypass the external regulator? It still looks like it is connected, it also looks like it's been recently replaced. It also seems my headlights aren't working! I took some pictures of how everything is set up, maybe someone can identify this alt for me and if everything looks alright?