04 mountaineer 4.6 AWD charging system issue on a 2 hour drive

I bought a 04 Mountaineer 4.6 AWD about a month ago to replace my 96 Bronco that was totaled in an accident. So far it has been a great truck and far more comfortable than my Bronco on long trips. Lately I have been driving a lot, on average 500-700 miles a week.

Last night I was headed home from Harrisonburg VA, about halfway through the two hour drive and all the sudden the display beeped and said "check charging system", the check engine, check gauges and battery light came on the dash and the power steering completely stopped working. I was driving through a small town @ 35mph so I was able to pull over immediately.

Turned the truck off and back on and everything was fine. No lights, no warnings, nothing. It was as if nothing ever happened... I poked under the hood, checked the battery terminals and then turned the truck on and off a couple of times to make sure it was alright. I got back on the road and drove the rest of the way home, which was about 50 miles on I-64. No problems.

What the hell? Was this just a temporary glitch or indicative on a serious upcoming problem? I'm very mechanically inclined and do most of my own work on my vehicles, but I've only owned this truck for about a month and haven't familiarized myself with all of its quirks and common problems.

Can anyone explain it to me? Thanks!

These vehicles tend to be babies when it comes to the alternator. Slightest hint of an issue and it shuts down the vehicle. Not as a precaution.

It's possible that you have a cable issue and your messing with it restored the connection.

I'd check the cables out, do a voltage drop test.
http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=146784

That's the thing though, the truck started up fine and all the warning lights went off before I even checked under the hood. I hope it's just a hiccup because I'll be making that same drive at least once a week for the foreseeable future and there are a lot of sparsely populated areas where there is little to no cell phone service.

Last year we were getting repeated "check charging system" with no apparent symptoms of any problems. The problem turned out to be the alternator. The brushes/slip rings don't last forever.

I'm on my 3rd alternator on my vehicle. 2nd one took my battery with it when it failed because it cooked it. Check it out carefully ASAP before it costs you more than the alternator. I'm betting there is a short somewhere in the system, either the alternator shorting out or a short in a cable between the alternator and the fuse panel.