Can a bad starter prevent the alternator from charging the battery and powering the s

The starter seems bad. But would it cause other problems?

What I've done:

- Checked the Alternator in store - good
- checked the battery in store - good
- Starter will not crank, but I can push start (manual)

Problem

- Starter does not turn (sometimes clicks, sometimes nothing)
- Alternator does not charge the battery
- Battery depletes while driving
- Car runs off battery only (or seems to), not alternator

Input much appreciated.

The starter being dead wouldn't deplete the battery; the battery is being depleted because the alternator isn't charging the battery. I would suspect that your battery doesn't have enough power to crank the starter. If as you say the that the alternator isn't charging the battery than your ground or wiring is bad between the battery and alternator or the ground to the frame. Your problem is with your alternator... Just my two and a half cents worth...

My symptoms exactly:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=803517

I will try and trouble shoot as this guy did. Hopefully it's the same thing.

well your alternator is not charging due to an old/faulty voltage regulator which drains the battery preventing it from starting.
get another running car and jump your car see if it starts to tell if the starter is good.
store testing means nothing.
buy OEM voltage regulator from Pelican parts for the best deal ($37, Napa charges $1xx).

Well I followed the procedure in the link above, but not go. I think I have 2 problems.

1. Starter is bad
2. Voltage Regulator is bad

I can't jump start the car, pointing to the starter and the charging issue is probably a separate issue.

You removed the alt from the car, so I presume you've checked that its cable is tight at the + terminal. Bad grounds also can prevent the battery from charging.

I haven't read that you've done the cluster test for voltage. Do it first before you pushstart the car, and then keep it on after you pushstart it. If the voltage doesn't rise to 13.6 or above, then you either do have an alt problem, or a cable problem (including loose/corroded grounds/connections.) Did you try lifting up on the battery cables? You could have a loose connection...preventing starting or charging...but it's good enough to supply power to the car when it's running.

Ignition switch?? Cheap, easy to replace and known to cause problems.

I would likely change the ignition switch first before the starter?? Even if you end up having to change the starter, the ignition switches are known to cause problems at some point, so it is kind of a ignition switch PM anyway.

Actually, I replaced the alternator and it's the same issue. The old alternator with the voltage regulator also tested good. I am going to check the engine ground wire.

Wires by the battery and ground wire in the boot look good, as does all the wires I was able to inspect and looked at.

Don't just look at them...wiggle, remove, clean, tighten...sort of stuff...whenever possible.

Often(ish) battery terminals are too small for our cable clamps...try to pull up on cables...wiggle every one...remove + terminal and ground lug under hood...main grounds...black cable on battery (both ends)...there's a ground strap by wheel well somewhere I recall...maybe one on either side...and there are others.

Not sure if you'll crank if clutch switch is bad...if you have clutch stop mod, remove it and try again.

Originally Posted by dmax

Not sure if you'll crank if clutch switch is bad...if you have clutch stop mod, remove it and try again.

no it wont crank.

I replaced my engine myself and all is well except this issue. There is a ground strap on the passenger side motor mount and another on the driver's side with a connector under the intake manifold in front of the starter (not on the starter).

I am thinking it must be a bad ground as this can cause my two symptoms - no charge and no crank. The alternator is good and I now I suspect the starter is good also.

I was able to test the red positive cables all the way from the alt to the battery - and they're all good. Matter of fact all my cables "look" good.

I will check the ground wires later today as best I can.

For the no crank issue - check the starter and ign switch
For the no charging issue - check elec grounds

That's my recomm if alt,batt is good as you say

There are so many checks you can do with a multimeter.
For instance, use the ohmmeter to check the connection from the engine block to the ground of the car.
Let us know what reading you get?

Found it!!

Loose ground wire at the passenger side motor mount. I didn't tighten it and put onto the bottom, rather than the top of the mount. All perfect now.

That disconnected ground will prevent the starter from cranking and if completely disconnected, even the solenoid from responding. Or you may hear a click, but the starter won't crank, or it will crank weakly. I got all symptoms, I guess depending on how the wire happened to be making it's intermittent contact.

It will also prevent the alternator from charging the battery at the same time. My alt light would sometimes come on and then off. If you ever get both at the same time, (charge and crank issues) check your grounds and positives.

Thanks everyone.

The ground strap is the key to getting the power out of the alternator and to everything else in the car that doesn't sit on the engine.
An ohmmeter would have shown a greater than zero ohms if you had used it to check the strap connection.

Glad you found it.

Tommytoyz, so did you try the jumper cable trick info in the link someone provided earlier?

Originally Posted by jfoj

Tommytoyz, so did you try the jumper cable trick info in the link someone provided earlier?

Yes I did try and it doesn't work if the ground strap to the engine block is not working. It would have worked if I had attached the negative jumper cable to the negative battery post and the engine block, but I didn't do that.

I was able to determine that the red positive cables were all conducting fine, so narrowed it to a negative and went looking. Didn't take long.

It's funny how that one wire will make your car not function in a multiple of ways. I can see how it can corrode over time where it bolts down at the ends, especially in less mild climates and start causing problems. It's a very short cable, probably a few bucks.

Thanks guys for the input.