There are simple tests you can do with a multimeter once you have the generator apart and on the bench. Continuity between all of the segments is one of them. Ensuring the windings are not going to ground is another. Then there is flashing of the generator once it is together. In fact, that is something that can be done with it in place on the vehicle and the cut-off disconnected before you take it off. I would have to read up on the third brush type generators though. You need some level of residual magnetism for a generator to work.
If all this is lost on you, then remove it and take it to an automotive shop. They can also put the armature on a growler which instantly tells them if there is a problem. The average home mechanic does not have a growler. I may well be living in the past thinking the automotive shops have them anymore.
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