You're correct, the gauge shows it's charging once the squealing stops. I'll take a look at the exciter to learn more about it.
Thanks for the idea.
The squealing is from it slipping. If it was an field excited style it would not squeal as there would be no load at that time. Next time start it rev it up two or three times. Shut it off and feel the pulley for heat. If its hot its slipping. Tighten it some more and see what it does. I guarantee I could have it stopped in 5 minutes. The 304 is hard to get the belt tight.
I'm confident that it is slipping but I don't know why. I thought maybe it was calling for too much of a charge for some reason or ??? I'm not the best mechanic out there and there are a lot of folks in the board that know much more than I do, that's why I ask the questions, but I do know how to properly tighten a belt. In fact, as I mentioned before, I have overtightened it using pry bars and it still squeals most of the time.
I'll rub some more bar soap on in it and call it good for another couple of years
