Starter went and then alternator all in same day?

[04SS99Denali]

I am pretty mechanically inclined Im just trying to figure out of these 2 are linked or not because Im stumped. Keep in my mind my truck is a garage queen, its been on a tender for 2 months in a heated garage. Its a restoration project of mine at the moment.

So I go to turn it on and just click, first thought was battery checked no it was fully charged. Few turns of the ignition it fired right up. Ok so the starter is on its last leg. No big deal.

Take it out for a drive since the rain washed all the salt away. Everything was normal everything worked like normal. Get to my destination shut her down go inside. Come back out, took a few tries to get it started. Went to leave the parking lot and noticed volt gauge is all the way in down reading about 10. Ok so now the alternator is not charging great lol. Managed to make it home 30 min drive on battery power LOL. Let it sit for a few hours on the tender.


After a few attempts it fires up and now its charging. Alternator is 2-3 years old no weird noises, all connections are good nothing fell out or was lose.

Would the starter taking a dump cause some sort of no charge situation?? Surely seems unlikely but this all happened out of know where.

I ruled out the gauge being bad. All the lights were dimming as I was driving to the point where I had no lights at all interior or exterior by the time I got home. Even the radio shut down.

 

[BG1988]

also since your in a salty area how are the condition of the wires? near the starter it sounds like you were grounding out

 

[04SS99Denali]

you think the starter going bad shorted the electrical system? I thought it might of popped a fuse but I checked all the fuses to see if anything fried everything seemed alright. Either way Im replacing the starter going to have the alternator tested.

everything is working fine now accept the starter.

 

[04SS99Denali]

also since your in a salty area how are the condition of the wires? near the starter it sounds like you were grounding out

Right I was thinking the same thing! I plan to check grounds this coming weekend when I have more time. Truck has rust for sure. But its not rotting out or anything to carried away.The starter has seen better days lol. Wires seem alright a little cruddy tho. When I get under there to do the starter Im going to clean up all the ground connections.

 

[BG1988]

Right I was thinking the same thing! I plan to check grounds this coming weekend when I have more time. Truck has rust for sure. But its not rotting out or anything to carried away.The starter has seen better days lol. Wires seem alright a little cruddy tho. When I get under there to do the starter Im going to clean up all the ground connections.

they can easily ground out because of dirt or the dirt can cause increased resistance between the connections

 

[Big Mama]

My vote is corroded cables somewhere. Rather than a tender can you put the battery on a charger? Will it take a full charge? Also check the battery before and while running.

 

[OR VietVet]

What Steven said. Check for ANY corroded cables and don't assume the battery cables are ok. They can be full of corrosion under the insulation. It can impede the charging flow. If you do replace the starter and alternator get the AC Delco.

 

[swathdiver]

Don't assume the battery is good either. If its state of charge is below 64% after 12 hours of sitting still it needs recharging.

 

[04SS99Denali]

so i went hunting around and everything seems fine lol. very weird. truck is running fine everything is still good. i did not find any corroded ground wire either all looked good and attached. im stumped.

yes battery still holds charge i took it out and left it on a tender over night and let it sit after it was full.