Glad you found it! I'm surprised the generator didn't destroy itself by charging straight to ground, unless the short also killed the residual voltage and never let the initial charge get going. You get an A+ for being persistent and finding a non-standard problem. A lot of folks would have scrapped the whole system and installed an alternator!
Jerry


"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!