Briggs Stator Problem

I Have 2- 11 hp briggs L head engines both on different Lts 1 is on a John Deere 111 and the other is on a Simplicity 4211 neither has head lights and so I have a single wire coming from the alternator/stator. The 4211 sat all winter with a battery in it and still had power enough to start it this spring after a few small mowing duty"s It sat for a week in the garage and went out and the battery was dead. it was an older battery so I put in a new one and mowed my small yard with it ,put it away and the next time I go to use it the battery is stone cold dead . I recharged the new battery and noticed a constant drain on the battery and tracked it down to , If the stator/alternator is plugged in ,when I hook up the battery it sparks .Instant draw . if I unplug it , no draw. I"m putting an engine on the 111 and when I took it out of the donor it worked fine ,now when I hook up the battery it snaps like the 4211 , unplug it(the stator wire) and no snap. So finally do I have 2 bad stators , two bad diodes or is something going funky with my solenoids. If I un hook the stator wire both will fire up and run fine just no charging. Sorry this is so long. Any thoughts? I don"t have a multi meter , maybe time to get one?
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1 - Lawn tractor batterys come in two configurations, the size is the same however the + and - terminals are switched. It would be easy to get the connections confused when changing batterys. Switching the connections would cause a constant discharge and no charging.

2 - A failed "open" diode would cause no charging and no discharge.

3 - A failed "shorted" diode would cause no charging and a constant discharge.

Terminal ends were not crossed . But it is acting as if the diodes are shorted.I'll Have to find the size and see if the local radio shack can help.

Thanks for the reply.

I have a Radio Shack diode soldered in the wire on one of my tractors - it has a 8HP Briggs. I think I used a 6 AMP, 100 PIV diode.

Yes - it is time to buy a VOM. If the diode is shorted the output will be AC, very easy to check. You will also need a VOM to verify it is charging after you fix it.

Thanks Ken . I think I have tracked down the problem to a short in my Battery charger , So with out me knowing it the internals in the charger shorted causing "crossed" terminals . or what I believe happened was a sudden spike in voltage.
Either way I do think the Diodes are fried and have new ones on the way. A new charger has replaced the old one as it was an old Exide charger
that has to be at least 20 years old