Hi there! Thanks for all the help so far- this post is great. I have a 1985 Van which I purchased about six months ago and have been consistently working on since then. I ordered a rebuilt Denso alternator and installed it yesterday. However, a couple strange things happened:

#1- I found out that the alternator I replaced had neither a strain relief mount or the plug that you mentioned. I found a wire that looks like what would plug into the alternator, but the wire is not long enough to ever have been connected there... meaning I have been driving without it connected for about 6,000 miles since I bought the van.
#2- After installing the alternator just like the old one was, the christmas light effect is still happening and the lights are still dim... pretty much exactly what was happening before.

Any ideas? Did I do something wrong or is there just something else that could be wrong with the same signs?

p.s. I looked around for the fusible links and can't find them! Any help on where they are?