[Vwdiesel] starter removal update and a what'sit?

[Kneale Brownson]

Got my new starter installed.  Old one needed a new brush set because the braided groundwire outside the housing and inside disintegrated from corrosion, and the Bosch service guy suggested it was old enough that a total rebuild would cost as much in parts as the new one ($79).  So he replaced the brush assembly on the old one and cleaned it up so I can have it on a shelf as an emergency replacement for the future, just like the spares I keep for our Audis.  That part cost an extra $20.
   
  The jack-under-the-tranny suggestion worked best for helping me realign the bolts linking the starter/engine with the front engine mountings.
   
  The what'sit regards the electrical device that anchors to the upper starter bolt as a ground and has a lead to take power off the starter's big 12-volt stud.  It has smallish wires going to the alternator.  Is that the ignition-link exciter wire for the alternator?