possible electrical issue

[towncarblue]

i have a 2002 nissan pathfinder. i was driving my vehicle and while i was driving the battery , a/t oil temp & brake light would start flashing . it would flash for 2 seconds then stop then flash again.
i made it to my driveway and turned off the car. i turned it on about 3 minutes later, started fine then the lights started flashing again but the car would not turn off after 15 min. i disconnected the battery while the vehicle was on and the vehicle stayed on , the light flashing is still happening. what could be causing this ? how would i troubleshoot it?

[Towncivilian]

Your alternator is dying.

[towncarblue]

i finally got around to testing the vehicle today. i used an multimeter and found that the voltage stays at 14.V . the lights are still randomly flashing .
when i turn on the headlights the flashing is gone after 2 seconds , it does a split second flash once in a while but its rare [ only happened twice during the 30 min it was on with the headlights]
i think i should take the car to an electrician

[Towncivilian]

Battery, A/T OIL TEMP, and BRAKE lights being lit indicate alternator failure. Why they're flashing, though, I'm not sure. I was thinking voltage regulator but since the voltage stays around 14V, that doesn't sound right. I don't know what to suggest, sorry

[towncarblue]

sorry for bringing up an old post , i have another car so i have not been paying too much attention to my pathfinder [ shames me a bit ]

i finally got around to try and take out the aftermarket autozone alternator [ wanted to send it to autozone and be 100% sure its not the alternator ] as i went to unscrew the power terminal it would not unscrew the nut , the terminal screw looked rusted. the wrench would turn but the nut stayed in the same place. i think im actually unscrewing the whole power bolt from the alternator [ gave up after an hour because i could only turn it less than 1/4 turn at a time] . i had an issue last year with the stock power wire that connects to the alt so i just ran a 2 gauge battery wire from the alt to the battery [ the big 3 ] on top of the factory power wire , this time im gonna leave it unplugged. if i cant remove the alt power bolt i will cut the factory power wire off. i need to know how to remove the power steering pulley so that i can reach and cut the factory power wire ??
the only issue i have left is .... what does that very small black wire connect to ?? the engine chassis or the negative battery terminal??? also how long is that power bolt ??

[Towncivilian]

Could you provide a photo of the wire in question?

[towncarblue]

it turned out to be the alternator .... thnks Towncivilian

this is a pic of the wire im referring to. its the wire with a circle crimp on it.
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii42 ... 090428.jpg

i think its a ground wire for something transmission related.when i went and replaced the alternator i did not connect it [ thought it was just a alt ground ] and my transmission had almost no pickup , when i went up a hill i thought i was gonna get stuck halfway up. i went today and reconnected it back to my pathfinder and it worked fine.
what is that wire for ??

[Towncivilian]

I've no idea what that wire is specifically for. It might just be a general ground used for many things. I know WD21s have a dropping resistor used for the transmission, though I'm pretty sure the R50s don't.