[John Fitzpatrick]

I've heard some alternators with isolated rectifier circuits (Lucas?) can be damaged if the lead from the rectifier to the battery is disconnected while the engine is running. I seem to remember something about the rectifier being in a bridge configuration and removing the battery + unbalances it causing excess current in two of the diodes, blowing them out. An electrical engineer out there can probably say whether this is true or an old wife's tale.