I had some work done on the 54 buick and I have a hunch that the car was wired for 12 V positive. According to the specs book for this car, the system is 12 V negative. How can I check to be sure it is wired correctly. ALso, when I have the battery hooked up, the generator attempts to spin constatntly and overheats. I have to keep the battery disconnected to prevetn burnign out the generator and causing a fire. Any ideas why this could be happening? Lastly, the car cannot be inspected as the brake lights are not working. I hooked the wires directly up to a 12 volt source and the brakes lights came on. Is it more likely a defective spider valve or air in the lines? Thanks again for any and all help offered.

I have no wiring diagram to help you through this, but I am pretty sure all Buicks ? were negative to earth. Obviously if the two thick battery cables are colour coded then the red one is positive and the black negative. Have a close look at the top of the battery and see if there is a + or - stamped into it. + is positive - is negative.
Also look and follow which one of the cables goes from the battery to the engine block or body frame. That should be the negative. If you have a voltage meter it will show you which battery terminal is what if it's not stamped.
What is happening with the generator is that it's acting like a motor. Generators can do that. They can either make power ( generator ) or produce energy ( motor) depending how there're wired up. Sounds like your generator problem is related to the glitch in the circuit somewhere.
Oh, and by the way , double check that you have good clean metal to metal contact between the earth wire and the frame.
No rust or paint between the contacts.
As for the numbers on the relay , can't help you on that one. May be someone who has a wiring diagram can help here.
My guess is that 2 wires feed the coil and the other 2 feed the solenoid.
Keep plugging away.

Ken ( aka Rooster --- looking for ' 54 Buick )