So one day my Zuki just died. Replaced alt on it thinking that was the issue. Took it out mudding and it just died on me. Bought new battery and starter also thinking the solenoid was driving my power. It ran fine then died when I turned on my lights. So now back to square one. Talked to a buddy and he thinks the exciter wire isn't working so I cut the red and white wire to back of alt (had 2 yellow marks also). Put it on the battery directly. Put volt meter on alt and got it to go over 12v. So we decided it would be good just to run it to a switch and turn on so my alt can charge my battery when it's running then turn off when it's not running. Today went to run a switch tested the alt with the car being off and it read over 12 volts. Ran the switch turned it on tested and now im down to 11.68 volts. So I thought maybe I messed something up and unplugged the red and white wire and put it directly in the battery. Still reading 11.68 11.69. Called around and they told me to unplug the green plug while it was running. So did that and the samurai still runs. So now they are saying the clip is bad or the regulator on the alt is bad. My question is any way to tell for sure what's wrong. Or any other ways to fix this? I only use this for trails and it gets drove to where im going offroading and that's about it.

The white/red wire is not the exciter wire.

My suggestion would be to start by returning the wiring to the standard configuration and then either take it to an auto electrician, or have someone with a little more electrical knowledge that you & your buddy help troubleshoot it.

The starter has one function, to crank the engine & get it started - assuming a manual transmission, you don't need the starter; the alternator has two functions, the first is to supply the electrical power required to run the car and the second is to recharge the battery; the battery also has two functions, to supply energy to start the car, and to make up any shortfall in alternator output - that last function is what's critical here - the car will run with the alternator disconnected or non-functional as long as the battery has enough power.

The reason I'm pointing these out despite them seeming like basic commonsense is that based on what you say, you seem to be either misunderstanding what you're being told, or you're being misinformed - if you have a vehicle with a good battery and alternator, you can disconnect the alternator and have the car run off the battery, or, disconnect the battery and have the car run off the alternator - this last is not a good idea, especially on today's newer cars with fuel injection and lots of electronics, but older vehicles with carbureted engines will run quite happily with the battery disconnected.

So then what wire is the exciter wire? Also car dies as soon as I take positive off. Tested alt while it was on the vehicle and no power is returning to the vehicle. Tested alt on a machine and its 13.8 under load. If the red and white wire isn't the exciter wire then why when we directly put it on the battery the alt started to charge my battery. I will say im not crazy wire mechanically, but im the basics. Also the person that is helping me is a certified mechanic. Not saying he is right or your wrong im really just looking for ideas for what's wrong here.

Also since replacing the starter my vehicle no longer dies when I turn my lights on. Also after sitting over night I can still go out and start it up. It use to be dead if I let it sit out overnight without being on charge.

You don't have to take my word for anything - I say it's not the exciter wire, you don't agree, I have no problem with that - go over to Ack's FAQ, download the wiring diagram and see for yourself.

Im not liking to see who is right and who is wrong. Im looking for answers and help. Iv talked to a handful of people and everyone says something different.

If everyone is saying something different, then they can't all be right - the correct information will move you forward, incorrect information & opinions will just add to the confusion - I've told you where to find the information you need ...

So if I take the black wire and run straight to battery this should charge battery, but Id have to run to a switch to be able to turn it off when I shut the vehicle off right?