Black wire from alternator post to starter lug post??

[monacof1]

Hi. I have a black wire that melted that goes from the alternator post to the starter post that the positive battery wire connects to. Its about 15 inches long and has the ring connectors on each end. I believe its 8 gauge. Its the Bosch 65 amp alternator. Can anyone tell me what this is for and if i can just replace it with another 8 gauge wire? thanks in advance!

Anthony

[spider2081]

The wire connects the alternator's output to the cars electrical system. It charges the battery so if the battery was dead the alternator's output current would max out for a period of time charging the battery. A common reason for this wire to burn is the alternator has a shorted diode and draws excessive current from the battery. If you don't know the condition of the alternator I would remove it and have it tested at a local Auto Electrical Shop.

I replace this wire with a #6 wire the ring terminal on the alternator end is 1/4" and the starter end is 5/16.

[monacof1]

The alternator was fine. I was going to hook my battery back up and accidentally dropped the neg wire onto the terminal and it sparked pretty bad. thats when i saw the smoke.