check charging system
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Joined: Jun 2006
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check charging system
hello i just upgraded my f150 to a new leriat and now that i put on my system in it which is 2 amps and a cap the check charging system is posting on the little screen and the battery sign is lighted up. what does this mean. or what can i do about it? answer back i am worried of messing somehting up.
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Joined: Nov 2002
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From: AR
I just started searching here for the same thing: "Check Charging System" and found your post. On my back from a 1200 mile round trip, my son plugged in a 12v-to-110v inverter to run an external DVD player. This was in addition to running the OEM built-in DVD my daughter was watching. We also had on just about everything else in the Expedition - both sets of fans, front CD player, head lights, etc. After about 0.5-1hr, this warning message came on. I had him unplug the inverter and the light/message went away. He tried plugging it back in a few minutes later and the light/message immediately came back on. He unplugged it and then it started coming on and going off the rest of the trip. This was with me turning off everything but the fans and the lights. It looked totally random after that. One stretch it was on for about 1.5hrs then off for 1hr then off and on minutes apart. I checked connections at the alternator and battery - nothing obvious.
I'm still under warranty so I'll take it in I guess. I was hoping that maybe I overloaded the system with the inverter (it's a small one - not a big inverter) and the battery would charge back up and the light would go off and STAY off. Also, my gauge registers just a hair above the midway point from H to L. Is this a real voltmeter or just something to show when it goes above or below a preset voltage?
I'm still under warranty so I'll take it in I guess. I was hoping that maybe I overloaded the system with the inverter (it's a small one - not a big inverter) and the battery would charge back up and the light would go off and STAY off. Also, my gauge registers just a hair above the midway point from H to L. Is this a real voltmeter or just something to show when it goes above or below a preset voltage?
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Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 56
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From: AR
Follow-Up
Just a follow-up for others that might do a search later on with this problem.
The light and message was so random that the first time my wife took the Expy in to the dealer, they couldn't do anything with it because the light was off. No codes were in the PCM and the alternator was charging so they sent her off after an 1.5hr delay.
Over the next couple of weeks it stayed off most of the time and then came back on and stayed on longer each time. Finally, it wouldn't go off and she took it in. They read the code and checked the alternator output (same things I had done) and declared "We don't know" but they were on the phone with Ford. They were told put in an alternator to see if that fixed it. Again, another 1.5hr wait and the service manager tried to make her think she was blessed to be getting a "brand new" alternator out of this. Like she should be appreciative of Ford for giving her a "$500 alternator" as he put it. But they didn't have time to do it that day and since they are always out of loaner cars (buy a new Expy King Ranch and don't qualify for a loaner) she was told to come back. They finally replace it the next day and the lights been off now for the past 2 weeks.
Crossing fingers that it's now fixed.
Not sure what caused it. Perhaps something happened when we plugged in the inverter and we overloaded the system. I don't know but the alternator was charging just fine and we put 1000 or more miles on it with the light and message going on and off at random.
The light and message was so random that the first time my wife took the Expy in to the dealer, they couldn't do anything with it because the light was off. No codes were in the PCM and the alternator was charging so they sent her off after an 1.5hr delay.
Over the next couple of weeks it stayed off most of the time and then came back on and stayed on longer each time. Finally, it wouldn't go off and she took it in. They read the code and checked the alternator output (same things I had done) and declared "We don't know" but they were on the phone with Ford. They were told put in an alternator to see if that fixed it. Again, another 1.5hr wait and the service manager tried to make her think she was blessed to be getting a "brand new" alternator out of this. Like she should be appreciative of Ford for giving her a "$500 alternator" as he put it. But they didn't have time to do it that day and since they are always out of loaner cars (buy a new Expy King Ranch and don't qualify for a loaner) she was told to come back. They finally replace it the next day and the lights been off now for the past 2 weeks.
Crossing fingers that it's now fixed.
Not sure what caused it. Perhaps something happened when we plugged in the inverter and we overloaded the system. I don't know but the alternator was charging just fine and we put 1000 or more miles on it with the light and message going on and off at random.
Last edited by rmfreeze; Jul 11, 2006 at 03:21 PM.
