Optima Battery Hold Down

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    Author Topic: Optima Battery Hold Down  (Read 5344 times)

    Offline DocMel

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    Re: Optima Battery Hold Down
    « Reply #15 on: October 16, 2015 - 08:30:44 PM »
    Gents  I have a red top o n my 1967 Toyota FJ45  (Its like Land Cruiser pick up truck).  I live at 9300' here in Colorado, and the last 2 winters, we have had periods that lasted a week with air temps at a low of -15, with a high of 5 degrees, and the wind blowing  30-50 mph, way in the negatives.  I might drive it once or twice over the winter months

    Its parked under  loafing shed, really exposed.   The battery is about 5 years old now, and the only time it let me down was when I left the ignition on overnight.  I just charged it back up with a regular battery charger.   For the last two years, over the winter, I started to use a regular/cheapo battery tender just in case I have to drive it:  No probs
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    Offline Topcat

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    Re: Optima Battery Hold Down
    « Reply #16 on: October 16, 2015 - 10:51:45 PM »
    Quote from: ed-pv on October 16, 2015 - 12:40:02 PM
    I've been running Optima Red tops and Yellow tops on most of my cars for years and I have had no problems.  I think the Red top in my daily has been in there for over 6 years!  I have heard stories of them not lasting, but...knock on wood...mine have all been good!

    Glad to hear many here not having issues with their Optima's.

    My testimony is based on how many Optima's I would see as warranty returns.
    Way too many compared to wet cells on a  % comparison.

    Northstar or also the same re labelled: X2 battery is still a far superior design.
    There's no way anyone can tell me or convince me that Optima's are just as good.

    Certainly there are owners out there don't know that AGM's won't survive because they don't keep them topped off charged on a PM basis. AGM's need smart chargers to keep them at peak performance regardless what brand.

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    Mike, Fremont, CA.

    Offline Topcat

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    Re: Optima Battery Hold Down
    « Reply #17 on: October 16, 2015 - 10:59:12 PM »
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    Mike, Fremont, CA.

    Offline 70chall440

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    Re: Optima Battery Hold Down
    « Reply #18 on: October 17, 2015 - 09:06:42 PM »
    I might as well jump in since I have had both good and bad experiences. I have 1 optima that lasted well over 10 years; probably around 14, can't be sure because it was used when I got it. Then I bought a brand new one several years ago and it lasted about 2 years before it started having problems. I replaced it with another red top and that one has been going strong for about 3 years or so. I did some research in Optimas and talked to several people who are in the battery industry; there is some truth to the quality taking a dive when they moved plants, however I have been told that they addressed it. I currently run red tops in 3 vehicles, a yellow top in one and a Die Hard Platinum in my Viper. I did have a red top in that, but I had some issues and was told that Vipers and Optimas didn't mix, so I replaced it with the Die Hard; turns out it was nothing to battery, rather it was a security issue.

    there is definitely truth to charging them different than a normal battery, especially using an old charger. One method to charge them if they run down is to connect the optima to another battery via jumper cables, then hook your charger to the conventional battery. I thought it was BS but did it after trying a variety of other methods and it works. Of course the other technique is purchase a new charger that has a setting for a AGM battery.

    if you think Optima's can be a PIA, try and Odyssey. When they work they are awesome, when they die they suck trying to resurrect them.
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    Current Mopar
    70 Challenger RT 440-6 EFI, 73 Cuda 416-6 EFI
    05 Hemi Durango, 01 Ram 4x4, 14 Ram 2500 4X4, 10 PCP Challenger 6 spd RT, 01 Viper GTS ACR, 52 B3B w/330 Desoto Hemi, 70 Hemi RR (under const)
    Past Mopars
    9 x Challengers. AAR Cuda, 4 RR, 2 GTX, 4 Chargers, etc... (too many to list)

    Offline brotow

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    Re: Optima Battery Hold Down
    « Reply #19 on: October 31, 2015 - 09:58:48 PM »
    Quote from: Joe mama on October 15, 2015 - 12:28:39 PM
    I have a Optima red top in my Challenger. It was in the car when I bough it. It is 5 years old. When I went to start it after sitting 2 months this winter. The battery was dead because I left the dam dome light on. I tried to charge it with a regular charger but it wouldn't do nothing. Friends of mine told me to just buy another regular battery or a new Optima's because it won't come back once it's completly dead.  I'm happy to say that is not true. I purchased a ctec charger. I started out by charging on the 6V setting for a few days then switch to 12 volts. It came back to life and I've had no problems with it all year. Recently the car sat for 3 weeks while I was on vacation. The car started without a problem. Not sure what the difference is between a ctek charger and a regular one is. I do know the ctek is computer controlled.

    I have optimas in my '73 Amx with a battery maintainer, my '02 sebring daily driver, my 87 wrangler with a battery maintainer, my wife's '00 mpv.
      I just bought this for my '70 challenger convert I am still putting together, $110 free shipping.
       Batteries NOW
    Warranty:   Yes   Manufacturer Part Number:   
    FVP24-7AGMA

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/221683535972?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
     
    I also found this on charging optimas:

    http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/517984-how-recharge-deeply-discharged-optima-battery.html
    Typically we recommend charging at a relatively low current, such as 2 amps, but when a battery has been deeply discharged, some sulfation of the battery plates may have occurred. However, if you charge at 10 amps, the higher current will help to break up sulfation that may have occurred. If you have an automatic charger, let it run until the charger indicates charging is complete. If you have a manual charger, estimate charging time by multiplying the capacity (amp hours or Ah) of the battery by 1.2 for a rough estimate of charging time in hours.

    In most cases, these steps will recover an Optima battery. It’s ok for the Optima battery to get slightly warm during the charging process, but hot to the touch or hissing from the battery indicates a short and the process should be discontinued. If you are able to fully charge the battery, but it gradually loses it's charge (without any loads on it) over 12-24 hours, the battery is probably not recoverable.

    If you’d rather not deal with this process, you can always take your battery to a professional battery specialist, like Interstate, who knows AGM technology. Most of them are willing to provide “charge and check” procedures for a small fee and many will provide the service for free.

    If you have any other questions, I’ll do my best to answer them. I appreciate your interest in Optima batteries!
    Jim McIlvaine
    eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.

    « Last Edit: October 31, 2015 - 10:03:30 PM by brotow »
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    70 Chall. vert.(in process) - 73 Amx -74 Javelin- 87 Wrangler-02 Sebring conv. 2005 Crossfire srt roadster
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