12 volt Bicycle Generator : discerning polarities for hooking up loads

I rigged them on my bike to test the actual output but can't get any real
readings (400 milivolts max), let a lone enough power for even the
smallest loads (i.e. 3volt toy motor). Either I got ripped off or I just
am not hooking them up right. I think its the latter.

At the bike shop, they had two different kinds available. I believe
they're both made in Taiwan. One of them had only one terminal and that
was rated 6 volts. The type that I bought (quantity = two) aparently are
rated between 12 - 16 volts and have two terminals. One reads T and the
other H. The salesguy explained it stands for Taillight and headlight. So
they're made for lights.

Anyways, since they are rated atleast 12 volts, I figured it would be
sufficient to use for other applications such as a charger for the power
pack in my electric bicylcle set up.

I initially understood that generators are just like motors with the
electromagnetism (two polarities) so how is it that the 6 volt generator
can have only one terminal.

And what about these two terminals for head and tail light. Obviously they
aren't the equivlent of positive and negative leads, cause I can't get any
power or readings from my digital multimeter (or anologue voltmeter) with
the the leads hooked up to positive and negative . I remember the guy at
the bike shop saying something about the both H and T leads being
positive, and and that the negative lead of the light (or other load) must
be grounded onto the generator. I tried, but still couldn't get any acurate
power--or readings with the thing spinning as fast as I could get it.

How do negative and positive polarities play in with such generators? What
am I missing? If it's rated at 12 volts, why can't I get any more than 400
milivolts. Do I have to ground the load some how or ??? I am lost.

If it was like a motor with negative and positive leads, it would be so
much easier . Can someone please help me out here? What if I want to
combine the power of both of the generators in series or paralell?

Thanks in advance



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