04 Expedition shuts off when cruise is set

This board has helped me out several time with my vehicles, lets see if I can help my buddy out. He asked me about his '04 Expedition, he said he was driving to work when his 'check charging' light came on, a few minutes later he turned on his cruise control and hit set. When he did the engine died. He pulled over and tried to start the motor. The starter would engage, crank alittle then would stop by itself with a loud metal clank. I heard it myself, and I would venture to say it was the solenoid making the noise. The funny thing is all 3 things happened at once. All 3 issues are constant, the battery seems to be in good working order, and the motor starts strong if the starter can be engaged long enough. What do you guys think?