Alternator Wire Fire ...?

Sooo my alternator wire caught fire today...any idea of why or how this could happen?

 

if the shielding degrades or any reason that wire touched the side of the alternator, it would melt and/or catch fire cause that is a power wire and the alternator case is grounded.
maybe it was tight and rubbing against it for some reason, may have not been put back on properly? not sure

 

Battery secured? Hit a good enough bump and jostle those wires, it could cause it short out and burn.

 

Easy, the wire got took hot.


But that is likely just a corroded connection.

 

After closer inspection it appears the insulation wore off and was creating an arc with the shield. Luckly i wasnt driving far and caught it before it got to bad. I wrapped it with electrical tape for now to prevent further arcing but eventually i would like to replace the whole wire.