2004 expedition 2.4L check charging system message

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Jeremy Martin

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I have an 04 expedition 2.4L. 2 weeks ago the altenator died. The battery symbol and Check charging system message displayed on the message console.

I replaced the altenator and changed the belt and put new battery posts on the battery since they were starting to corrode.

Yet the message still persists.

I searched this forum and found a few suggestions about the altenator to battery cable assembly. So I replaced it with a new factory cable set.

This didnt fix the issue either.

So i had the battery checked and it tested good. Its only a year old and still under warranty. I even tried temporarily swapping the battery with another one to test. Still the problem persists.

I have a code reader but it doesnt bring up any P0 codes.

Has anyone else found a fix for this?

Any other suggestions?
 
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Jeremy Martin

Jeremy Martin

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Sorry about that - it is the 5.4 L.

It's the frustration of the whole situation that has my mind jumbling around the numbers. I have 2 vehicles both Ford and both are having issues.

I also have a 04 F-150 Heritage also and its the 4.2 L (not 2.4 L). Again I got the numbers switched around in my head because I'm having other issues with the F150 and I am trying to figure out what is wrong with it too. I have 2 different P0 codes on it that happen to not be cheap or easy repairs to make.

Trying to fix two vehicles with little to no funds left that neither are running right while having to still use them and baby them is frustrating to say the least.

Also - It takes me a while to get back to my posts I live in a small rural town and our internet connection is sporadic and drops frequently. Some days it wont work at all and on good days it only drops connection 3 to 4 times a day. Typical of AT&T phone company issues here. The IPS here doesn't want to make improvements to fix their dropping issue and there are no other IPS's here Their technicians have told me that they are planning on leaving the area and shutting down the copper market here within the next few years thus killing the DSL connection we have. So I have to find a time when I can get online when the connection is working so it may take me a few days to respond back.

I'm still having the same problem with the "Check Charging System" message with battery symbol. I have checked and replaced anything that is suspect: every fuse, wire, terminal connections that I know to check. I even took the battery and had it tested and got a print from the store that I got it from that the battery was good and within design specks. I'm wondering if the new alternator I bought is bad - even though I'm seeing 14.2 volts when the engine is running. When I plug in the OBD-II analyzer it doesn't bring up a single P0 code.

I have spent around $300 for a new alternator, belt, battery terminal clamps, and battery to alternator wire assembly on the thing so far and I'm out of money to work on it now. The only other thing I can think of is if the new alternator isn't bad then the computer may be damaged somehow. Its a waiting game to get the time to take it back off and drive the 100 mile round trip to the next town over beyond the next town over( = 2 towns over) to get it checked if the F150 can make it. Its the next thing on my list to do on a weekend when I'm not working.

I checked the link out that stamp11127 sent but I had already seen and read through that page before posting this call for help for the much needed knowledge.

I wish I could afford new vehicles. But with 5 kids and all their needs and the 7 of us to feed that's not happening anytime soon unless a divine miracle happens.

The attempt to contact the parts store that is in the next town over 30+ miles away for knowledge and advice is futile. They only seem to hire kids that have only had a semester of shop class in high school of which they either barely passed or dropped because they couldn't read or write and put them behind a counter to sell parts. And the "auto repair" shop wants me to bring them my car and leave it for a week so they can charge me $350 to just check fuses and then tell me that they don't know whats wrong with it. They seem to hire the kids that cant make it work at the auto parts store sales counter while the boss at the auto repair is in the back office hitting the bottle with the owner of the auto parts store.

Sorry for the frustrating venting rant. Its been a very rough couple of months with loads of bad news at every turn.

Any ideals what to check next on the vehicle? Any advice pertaining to the charging system issue is much appreciated. I promise not to rant/vent frustrations any more.
 

stamp11127

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Thanks for coming back...we have quite a few "one post wonders" lately.

Other than all the things you listed above - how's it going?

How are you with electrical diagrams, and do you have a dmm? Your alternator is controlled by the pcm so you need basic electrical knowledge before working with that baby.
 
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Jeremy Martin

Jeremy Martin

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I'm pretty good with electrical diagrams. I am a licensed Ham operator general class and do a lot of electrical and electronic repairs at work. (Hospital Maintenance Director). I do have a digital multi-tester its design function is more for HVAC repair than automotive though but it has many of the same functions as an automotive multi tester.

However, this issue may be solved in another way.

I just received a strange email from the auto dealer I bought the Expedition from 2 years ago for $6000. I wonder if there could be a bigger issue than I thought for an auto sales company to want to buy back an vehicle I bought in full 2 years ago. I have never heard of an older car "Increasing Value" if it wasn't some kind of classic hot rod or something. This is just a family vehicle to handle the 7 of us not a fancy street rod of any kind.

Has anyone ever heard of this happening? I'm wondering if they are trying to cover themselves.

What do yall think?

I am pasting the text below (I have edited out the specific names and numbers and non issue info for propriety sake):

"You are receiving this letter because I have some very timely and important information about your vehicle. As Director of Vehicle Acquisitions for ***** Ford Lincoln I am making a personal appeal to purchase your vehicle.

Normally, we purchase some of our pre-owned vehicles from auction. Unfortunately, an increasing number of flood damaged vehicles have been arriving at the auctions. Our General Manager simply will not allow our team to risk our reputation by inadvertently purchasing one of these units and reselling it to one of our customers.

What does this mean for you? The value of your 2004 Expedition has just increased and we're interested in purchasing it back from you. My appraisers have from now until the close of business on Wednesday, November 15th, 2017 to extend this purchase offer. At your convenience, please give me a call at XXX_XXX_XXXX to set up a time to receive a no-obligation, written purchase estimate.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Warmest regards,

XXXXXXX XXXXXXX
Director of Vehicle Acquisitions
XXXXX Ford Lincoln
***-***-XXXX"
 
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Jeremy Martin

Jeremy Martin

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The car lot wants to make me an offer for buying back the car so that I will buy a new car from them and so that they can send this one to auction for flood victim's in the hurricane relief areas - according to what they just told me. I cant afford buy a "NEW" car so I need to keep this one so I still need to try to figure out what the problem is with this one.

Does anyone have advice on the procedure to test the PCM to see if that is causing the issue? Again my OBDII tester shows NO problem codes. But the dash still shows "Check Charging System".

things checked off so far:
Replaced altenator
replaced belts
replaced Alternator to battery wire assembly
Replaced battery terminal post clamps
Checked all fuses
had battery tested and even temporarily traded batteries for testing
checked and rechecked to make sure all wire connections are making good connections.

What am i missing?
 

Riphuero

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Im having the same issue. Somebody posted that it could be a wiring harness issue. What fuses did you check?
 
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Jeremy Martin

Jeremy Martin

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I pulled and tested every fuse in the panel.

Still havent found the problem.

Last weekend I drove over to the next town and took it to advance auto. They put a tester on the battery post while it was running and said that the altenator, battery, etc. were all running within spec. They printed out the results but couldnt figure out why the notification is still displaying. There are still no OBD II codes.

They said that all that they can assume is that when the original altenator died it could have damaged the circuit in the pcm. And it may be sending a false signal to the display.

Im out of money and patience with working on it.
 
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