devitek

Ha! I did try the charging and driving thing, but it got a old really fast. The apartment complex I live in doesn't allow any kind of vehicle maintenance on their property, so the car is at my parents' house about 20 miles away. I saw a TON of newer model Mazdas with alternators intact, but the wiring looked different and I just wasn't sure about them. The lot had all of 2 RX-7's, the '79 that I pulled the alternator from originally and an '86 that was completely gutted...except for the transmission and rear end...would be nice to have...

So some of these others will work you say? I'll have to check it out. Thanks for the input, too...this has been a real pain so far, but some advice is always appreciated.

devitek

Well, made a final trip to the junkyard and pulled 2 alternators. One is from a 626 I think, the other was from a 92 Protege. The Protege one is basically a direct bolt-on, except for the wiring. Once I figured that out (I hope), it seems that all is well. So, note to those who care, the alternator from a 92 Protege will work on our cars. It's only a 65amp, but that's still and improvement! Thanks to all that have contributed.