The empty hole you circled is for a different application, not for a Z or ZX. That is a reman alternator and it fits numerous Japanese cars. You are not missing a wire on your fusible link like you thought, that's an unused hole. The black link in front of it is for the alternator and a few other items. It sounds like you have a defective alternator, very common out there. If you buy an alternator or starter from a budget auto parts store for these cars you're setting yourself up for failure. They have about a 65% failure ratio on these cars, especially if they claim that the alternator has a lifetime warranty. That's just bait to get a sale. Check the voltage at the hot lead on the alternator with a volt meter with the engine not running and then with the engine running just like Kickstand mentioned. That was good advice however NEVER, NEVER, NEVER disconnect a battery cable with the engine running. That can only be done on cars with a generator. Do that on an alternator car and the alternator can go into an overload mode and burn out all kinds of items. It may not happen every time but it's not worth the risk. Z man of Washington
