On a 96 Trans am, the alternator has a plug on the bottom of it with only one wire in it. The clip that holds the plug in broke off and I tried to tie wrap it so that the plug won't pop out of the alt.

Now what does that wire go to? I am assuming that it is for the voltage gauge. Is this correct?

What will happen if the tie wrap doesn't hold and the plug pops out while driving. Will I just get a check gauges light or will something else occur?

Also can I order a new plug for that and splice it in?

 

You can get the new plug from the dealer and splice it in, I don,t see a problem with that.
Someone has to know what that wire does, me and electricity don,t get along, wiring is my biggest fear.

 

I broke off that clip while putting the alternator back in once. I just plugged it in thinking that it would hopefully stay. The next day it fell out while I was going down the interstate. The car wouldnt shift into overdrive, and had no throttle response. It took almost everything the car had just to get it moving from a light.

It has to stay plugged in in order for your alternator to work.

I tied mine in with a piece of copper electrical cable. It hasn't come out once since I did it a couple months ago. Or you could just not be a cheap *** like me and get a new one

 

That's the exciter wire if that wire comes unplugged you will be running off of your battery. That wire excites the alternator that helps produce voltage to your battery and the rest of the car thus not running down the battery.