What are you doing for a battery?

[Tonker1]

Will be getting an optima yellow top sometime soon, since the Challenger isn't road bound at the moment it doesn't need anything more than the cheapo battery its got currently!

[Strawdawg]

The Optimas used to have a good guarantee but they changed it a few years ago.  I have not had much luck beyond three or four years with the Red Tops in recent years.  I have friends that swear by the Yellow Tops but that seems contrary to what is written above.  I assume the reduction in warranty is a reflection of shorter life than one might have expected.

I am debating whether, or not, to buy another Optima right now for one of my cars that does not want to stay charged very long.  they are expensive, but, the lack of "leakage" is a nice feature.

Living in a hot area does not do much for battery life.  Given the shorter three year warranty on the Optimas these days, I may opt for a Duralast Gold which has a three year replacement and an eight year total warranty.  I have one in one of my cars that has passed four years and holds a charge a long time if I don't keep a charger on it.

[brads70]

I have an Optima in my daily driver and so far 5 years later all is great. I had one in my BB Buick that I didn't drive all winter. It discharged over the winter and it was never the same after that. I don't think I'd get an Optima for a vehicle that sits in storage mode  for  a few months.

[high perf mopar]

i have an optima red top in the trunk of our barracuda now for appx 3 years and so far so good..used on dry saturday afternoons only but i use a battery cut off switch so the powers only on when were using the car..downside is u cant use a std battery charger on them if nesacary..it has to be some kind of digital unit that mines not..fortuneatly i have not the need so far.. 

[Topcat]

Optima's or any AGM (absorbant glass matting) batteries do not like to sit inactive for long periods of time.
 
Any battery regardless of chemistry/make up should have a trickle charger put on them at least once every 2-3 months if sitting inactive.

The most ideal charger for an Optima is a CTEK.
This is the one most recommended by many Interstate All Battery outlets.

http://smartercharger.com/benefits

[Strawdawg]

I have an Optima in my daily driver and so far 5 years later all is great. I had one in my BB Buick that I didn't drive all winter. It discharged over the winter and it was never the same after that. I don't think I'd get an Optima for a vehicle that sits in storage mode  for  a few months.

that has been my experience.  If you let the battery get discharged, then they never recharge fully and they don't stay charged very long.  I use a CTEK 7002 which seems to do a good job but on the Optima that has been run down in the past, it seldom goes to the fully charged light even tho it starts cycling as it would with a fully charged battery.  I need to get the Challenger down on the ground and hook it up and see how it is doing as it has been off the charger for some time....it was charging okay on a newer Optima that is in it.

Optima advertises long shelf life, but...

[1970 RT Challenger 1970]

..downside is u cant use a std battery charger on them if nesacary..it has to be some kind of digital unit that mines not..fortuneatly i have not the need so far..

Yes you can use a standard battery charger on an Optima Battery. My battery charger was made in 1975.

If the Optima Battery goes below 10 Volts from lack of use, you need to put a lead acid battery in parallel with the Optima Battery and charge it that way for about 2 hours, then take out the lead-acid battery and continue charging the Optima.

Anyways, it's all on their website.

[Topcat]

FWIW...

Optima batteries are manufactured in Aurora CO. by Johnson Controls.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/johnson-controls-announces-acquisition-of-gylling-optima-batteries-ab-73050742.html

[Strawdawg]

FWIW...

Optima batteries are manufactured in Aurora CO. by Johnson Controls.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/johnson-controls-announces-acquisition-of-gylling-optima-batteries-ab-73050742.html

That is out of date from the year 2000.  Johnson Controls shut down the factory at the end of 2008 and moved it to Mexico.  Shortly thereafter, the warranty was changed to three years on new purchases with no proration afterward.

While researching that info, I ran across something interesting.  The Sears Platinum battery is the same as the Odyssey AGM battery (made in the same plant here in the States and looks exactly like it).  It is warranted for free replacement for 48 months and prorated to 100 months.   It's not cheap at $219 but is in the range of the Optima.  The complaints with it seem to be with the side post terminals coming loose (the top posts still work).  There are claims that this problem was recently addressed by a redesign of the mount but who knows?  Top post users seem to be very happy with it and claim long storage life when not in use.  Maybe Sears will have a sale

Put the Challenger on the ground and checked the battery.  It was still 3/4 charged so the Optima in it has not gone into the discharged in two weeks like the one in my Buick.  Put the CTEK on it for good measure.

Optima is selling its own charger now.  It seems to be a copy of the CTEK in function but in a space age case.

 

[challenger_73]

Chryco,
What Series or group Red Top are you using?
challenger_73

[brads70]

That is out of date from the year 2000.  Johnson Controls shut down the factory at the end of 2008 and moved it to Mexico.  Shortly thereafter, the warranty was changed to three years on new purchases with no proration afterward.

While researching that info, I ran across something interesting.  The Sears Platinum battery is the same as the Odyssey AGM battery (made in the same plant here in the States and looks exactly like it).  It is warranted for free replacement for 48 months and prorated to 100 months.   It's not cheap at $219 but is in the range of the Optima.  The complaints with it seem to be with the side post terminals coming loose (the top posts still work).  There are claims that this problem was recently addressed by a redesign of the mount but who knows?  Top post users seem to be very happy with it and claim long storage life when not in use.  Maybe Sears will have a sale

Put the Challenger on the ground and checked the battery.  It was still 3/4 charged so the Optima in it has not gone into the discharged in two weeks like the one in my Buick.  Put the CTEK on it for good measure.

Optima is selling its own charger now.  It seems to be a copy of the CTEK in function but in a space age case.

 Sears up here in Canada used to have the best batteries. I always bought them when I needed a new one. Then for some dumb reason they quit selling them?    Tires too? They always had pretty good tires also.
Sears up here is really starting to suck! They hardly have any tools on display or available ( as compared to what's available states side)..... they ain't what they used to be.   .... around here anyway?

[Strawdawg]

they are not as good down here as they used to be, either...they went thru a really bad spell with batteries, but, I understand that someone else is making them now...the Platinums are made by EnerSys in the same plant as they make the Odysseys.. and they are identical in case, etc.

I guess they could not compete with CT....add a Tim Hortons to CT and everyone else would go out of business

[brads70]

they are not as good down here as they used to be, either...they went thru a really bad spell with batteries, but, I understand that someone else is making them now...the Platinums are made by EnerSys in the same plant as they make the Odysseys.. and they are identical in case, etc.

I guess they could not compete with CT....add a Tim Hortons to CT and everyone else would go out of business

    Great idea! They already have a fantastic hotdog vendor in front of the stores around here.... that's bad enough! 

CT would be the last place I would get a battery though.... I almost always see someone bringing one back for warranty.

[dodge freak 2]

I have the  Sears Platinum, its heavy. Had a red top but went bad after a few years, got 3 years on this one now. Battery will go dead if I leave it hook up for over 2 weeks without use.

Charging voltage matters, believe mine is a steady 13.5? Voltage reg. is a newer MP. Have an older 1980 DC one but that is around a steady 14.2..great for bright lights but burns the batteries up quicker. The older reg that lower the voltage at idle might be easier on the battery but then your lights dim at stop lights-which is no longer "cool"

Best thing about Sears is they pro rate your battery, I still paid around $100 but cheaper then full price..its $220 now, I think mine was $160 new 3 years ago...I'm sick and tried of how everything cost more each year but wages are still going down ?

[Strawdawg]

The chargers made for AGM charge at a higher voltage than regular chargers so I don't know if the lower voltage will make them last better, or not.  Contrary to the ad claims, I think that once one has been run down due to something pulling them down, they seldom seem to return to a completely charged state.  The one in my Challenger has not been on a charger for at least three months until I dropped it down yesterday and hooked it up.  It showed 12.42v and went to a full charge with a green light showing in a bit over an hour.  The CTEK charges AGM at a voltage above 14v until it hits fully charged and then drops down to about 13.5v.

The other Red Top that I have will quickly drop to just above 12v and will never show the fully charged state although it eventually starts cycling on the charger anyway.  After two weeks, it will barely turn over if I go out to start the car.

When this thread initially started, I began researching Optimas and found the net was flooded by unhappy owners-far more than I recall hearing about ten-twelve years ago when I bought the first one.

See the first post on this page  http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=2052956

He explains their quality control in Mexico is better than it was when they built them in the states.  I just recall they took the prorated part of the warranty and tossed it about that time so I am not buying it.

If Sears will have a good battery sale, I will try a Platinum because the warranty is good and the Odyssey has had a good reputation even tho most are referring to the lightweight model for race cars.