Before I go further - Need some major help.

I'm no car expert, but it appears the previous owner was a real hack with the wiring.

Here's my question:

There's a thick black wire going from the back of the alternator into the wiring block on the firewall. Comes out on the other side of the dash and is supposed to go to the ammeter on the dash.

From the starter relay - there's a thick red wire that does the same. It goes to the ammeter on the dash as well. All that makes lots of sense.

I guess the ammeter measures the volts from the battery vs the alternator.

Now for the kicker. The previous owner (cough...hack) has the black wire and the red wire joined together. Then they (both) feed a batch of wires going to the horn relay and who knows where else.

Is this cool? Why? I don't know anything about electricity, but something tells me black and red shouldn't touch. But then again... maybe that's how the battery gets charged.

If you put an ohmeter to the back connector on the alternator and the other end to the positive battery or starter relay, should it make a complete circuit?

If all that is cool, I'll tape it all back up, hook up the dash, close my eyes and put the battery back on.

If not, something went wrong with my tracing.....

One last question.. The block (A,B,C,D etc..) that goes between the firewall on the engine side and the interior - how the heck are those wires plugged in there. I can't seem to get them out...

Need some help. Too scared to hook the battery back up.... :)

Thanks,

Bob