I power washed underneath my hood briefly to remove some mud. As soon as I began to drive my truck I had a 'check charging system' message. Continued to drive myself home and all of my lights, cluster, interior power shut down however, the engine ran for another minute or so then turned off also. Jump started it and lasted on for less than a minute. Bad Alternator? Could the water short out the alternator? Relays? Fuses? Thanks for any advice!

 

I had the exact same problem with a Jeep I used to own, All the electrical slowly started to dim and then the engine just shut off, it started once again but slowly died. It turned out to be the alternator, replaced it and everything worked great. Funny though that it happened after a day of mud bogging.

 

If you can rent a code reader, or get the truck down to the Auto Zone you can scan for the codes and see what the problem really is, when you find this out, give us the code number

 

Double Post

 

This would be a waste of time. He has a charging/electrical system fault, not an emissions or engine management problem. He now has a dead battery.

Check/test/charge your battery. Inspect/test your battery and alternator wiring and the serpentine belt (it might be slipping due to getting wet). Test your alternator output. Make repairs as needed.

Keep the power washer away from your engine in the future....

Steve

 

Bad Alternator.

Did you receive any indication of a low battey (light, level)?

Same thing happed to my S10 before I traded it.

Got the low battery warning on the way home (45 min drive) and charged over night. Same low battery warning on the way to work. 15 mins into driving all lights, radio, etc... died. 5 mins later engine died.

$75 Alternator from Autozone. Luckily this was a top-mount and 3-bolt unit. Unlike the F150 that is hidden pretty well.