I saved your pic for future reference. As many times as I've seen this and posted about it, never had a pic. Anyway... At some year model they decided to add a engine harness connector for ease of assembly. Alternator wires, temp sender wire, and more, all routed through this one connector. Melting and all sorts of short circuits happen here, just like the white connector at bottom of steering column. I jokingly suggest these are white plastic so the blackening is easier spotted by eye.
In the end, you don't need it, better off without it, like earlier models. Splice the wires together, staggered, soldered, splices.