reversed polarity..

You say you shorted the field to ground and still no charge, so AFTER YOURE SURE THE GENNY IS POLARIZED CORRECT try it again when running and the field grounded and if still no charge, leave the field grounded and by pass/jump the VR's cutout relay by momentarily connecting its BAT and Gen (or Arm) n see if she charges then?? If theres no charge with the field dead grounded and the VR's cutout relay by passed, the VR is essentially out of the circuit n she ought to charge IFFFFF THE GENNY IS GOOD along with all the other wiring etc.

POLARIZE THE GENNY FIRST BEFORE TRYING THIS

John T

Polarize it again, and try full-fielding it by grounding the "F" terminal.

The generator would not have been hurt by charging with reverse polarity, but it may take a couple of attempts to get enough residual magnetism built up in the field polepieces for it to "excite" itself at startup.

An old electrical "guru" who's shop I used to hang around as a kid would sometimes tap the generator's belly in the area of the polepieces with a small brass hammer while polarizing it.

I can't certify that this helped build up the residual magnetism in the polepieces, but it SEEMED to work for him!