So can a bad starter drain your battery? The short answer is: Yes, it can. It could also drain the battery even faster if you repeatedly try to start your car with a faulty starter. A faulty starter is also one of the leading causes of battery overcharging.
A bad starter actually sounds quite a lot like a dead battery – you turn the key, and all you hear is a click. It might not be the entire starter, though – it could be a weak component known as the solenoid. It prevents the starter from creating the correct current to start your car.
The starter will draw a charge from the battery. If it's drawing too much, that's a clear indicator that's has failed. The vehicle may still start; however, it will continue to draw too much power and will drain the battery.
Defective charging system - A car battery drains quickly if something called the alternator on your charging system fails to push out enough voltage, ideally between 13.5 - 14.5 volts. In this case, the battery will continue to drain even while the car is running.
If you hear a whine or the sound goes fuzzy when you hit the gas, your alternator is probably failing. If the vehicle won't crank or start but the headlights are still working, look to problems with the starter or other parts of the engine.
When you attempt to start the vehicle, is there a clicking sound, but it won't turn over? That may be a good sign. If a jump gets the car running, but won't turn over again once it's shut off, a dead battery is likely the cause.
One of the symptoms of a bad starter is a clicking noise when you turn the key or push the start button. However, a starter can die without making any sound at all, or it may announce its impending death with whirring and grinding noise—so listen up!
Using a test switch and digital ammeter is the simplest, most accurate way to measure parasitic drain directly. A test switch goes between the negative battery terminal and negative battery cable.
No two starters will last the same length of time and there is usually no way to know that your starter is dying until the day your car doesn't start and you have to call for service. They could last as long as 200,000 miles or as little as 30,000.
In most cases when a starter goes bad, it's completely random with no warning signs or symptoms of mechanical failure.
The processed power is then passed on the car battery for functional and non-functional power delivery. All of this is made possible by the connection of the alternator with the engine by an active drive belt and the engine pulley. It's the starter that engages with the alternator to deliver power to the car battery.
How Much a Starter Replacement Costs. The cost of rebuild parts for a starter can range from as little as $50 to as much as $350. A brand-new starter can range from $80 to over $350. For a qualified mechanic to replace or rebuild your starter, you can expect to pay between $150 and over $1,100.
Occasionally, if you keep trying to start the vehicle, it will work, but chances are your starter is worn out and it will not last much longer. This can be due to a wiring issue from the key switch to safety interlocks or antitheft devices, but it is most often the starter that is not working properly.
A bad starter's tell-tale noise is loud clicking. It can either have a fast tempo, click-click-click-click-click-click-click-click or a slower lilt of click, click, click, click. No other part makes these noises when they fail, so if you hear either, you're likely going to be on the hook for a brand-new starter.
Your car's ignition switch, alternator, battery, starter, or a fuse could be malfunctioning. Your safety switch could be broken. This switch keeps your transmission from starting unless you're in park or neutral. If it is malfunctioning, it will keep your car from starting.
It might be a battery or alternator problem.
If the source of the clicking is electrical, the starter (a small motor energized by the battery that gets the engine running) doesn't have enough juice to stay powered. So instead, it rapidly turns on and off and produces a clicking noise!
Use a circuit tester to see if the current is getting to the solenoid. Place one lead of the circuit tester (test lamp) to the feed terminal of the solenoid. Attach the other lead to bare bodywork metal. If the tester lights up, then the problem is with the solenoid or the starter itself, not the current getting to it.
Starters do wear out or fail over time. However, they usually have several warning signs that they're on the way out, and mechanics may ask you about them if you take your vehicle into an auto repair shop.
Push-start the vehicle if you have a manual transmission.
Once you've got some speed going, release the clutch and your car should start. Press the clutch back in and give your engine some gas and you're good to go! This will definitely work with a bad starter, but it could also work with a bad battery.
CAUSES OF FAULTY STARTERS: CAUSE OF FAILURE
Electrical connections faulty. Solenoid switch (engaging relay) stiff or faulty. Electric motor damaged electrically. Single-pinion gear, starter pinion or freewheel damaged.