80q alternator woes

[kf21857 at comcast.net]

We had a similar charging problem on my son's 90q.  Finally gave up and took it to a shop.  There was a broken connection on the back of the instrument cluster involving the exciter wire.  Sounded weird to me but it's working fine now.  I believe the voltage reg is built into the alternator as part of the brush assembly but I could be mistaken on that.
Dave
>So, is there anything for me to check before removing the alternator
>from  
>it's hidden, nearly-inaccessible perch?  Where does the "exciter wire"
>get it's 
>juice -- I'd like to check continuity before ripping the alternator
>out.  
>Anything else to look for?  Voltage Reg?  
 
>Thanks,
 
>Tom