Y'all tell me if I am off base here. The alternator has 4 connections, output, ground, and 2 wires (coil wires) that, when connected, excite the field coil. When the coil wires are connected, I think that there must be a battery attached to the output & ground to excite the field coil. When the field coil is excited, the alternator puts out over 14 VDC, putting a 1.5 KW load (guess) on the engine. This output could be used for bulk battery charging. Without the field coil excited, the alternator puts out 12.3 VDC, without any engine load to speak of, but providing adequate power to run the pump and radiator fan. Do I understand what is going on here, or am I missing something?