It will charge full time/even if the engine is stopped if you do that. My ctek has the same wire, apparently the smart alternators don't always reach the "on voltage" required to activate the charger so you need to connect that wire to a 12v ignition source. You can try it without it, my (Gu) alternator looks close to standard(non smart) voltages. I've never seen mine drop below 12.7 when running and usually hits 14.1 when first started.