2003 Ford Expedition, Charge Light On, P0620

This 2003 Ford Expedition came in with the complaint that the alternator had been replaced twice and the charge light light indicator was still coming on. The shop that had installed the alternators had called in desperation as their customer was becoming quite upset. They also stated that the light may stay out all day or only about an hour. When their customer showed up with the vehicle I was a little surprised. The shop usually sends vehicle on a flat bed and drops them off. Time to try and make everybody happy (except Me) while the customer waits(I was trying to eat lunch). I did a quick visual inspection of the wiring at the alternator and everything looked okay. I checked codes and found a code P0620 stored (alternator problem). I then looked at the wiring leading to the alternator and I saw this telltale sign. A wire with discoloration against a metal object.

The metal object in this case was the a/c low pressure or suction line that runs along the lower edge of the battery. I lifted the wiring up and could tell from the amount of discoloration that I might have found the problem.

Yep there’s the problem. I removed some more tape. Wrapped the damaged wire. Rewrapped the harness.

Installed some split loom and cleared the codes. Rechecked the system and all was okay. Back to my lunch.

42 discussions on “2003 Ford Expedition, Charge Light On, P0620”

  1. I’ve been having a similar issue with my 05 EB expy for close to a year now. It’s on alt #2, battery #2. I read your post & fixing the wire seemed to fix it til we had the timing components & right valve cover replaced. Now it’s back. Battery indicator shows it charging way into the red. Pulling the negative battery cable for a few min seems to stop it for a few days but then it’s back. I’ve got a fuse that keeps blowing, #24 (heated PCV, vanity lights, battery saver relay power, battery saver relay coil). I’ve got a list of the stored codes at home & can post those if it helps.

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