It can.
One common reason authors make the first book in a series free is to introduce the series to a larger number of readers. Some of those readers may enjoy the free book enough to purchase later titles.
However, a free download does not guarantee a future sale. Readers may download books faster than they read them, and only a portion will eventually continue through a series.
Series read-through can depend on many factors, including genre, cover design, reviews, the strength of the first book, pricing of later books, and how clearly the next book is presented at the end of Book 1.
For that reason, it is usually better to evaluate a free promotion based on both immediate downloads and its longer-term ability to bring new readers into your series.