done with Optima batteries

Jayne

Jayne

Just here for the memes
Charter Member
Supporting Member
Multi-Factor Enabled
Joined
Dec 16, 2016
Messages
8,028
Location
Unincorporated Wake County
Rating - 100%
34   0   0
Had two yellow top Optimas in my Jeep with a nice isolator setup (which dad bought off me and was using as a dingy for his RV and has a daily driver). Primary battery lasted 2 years then died. Took it back to 4WP and the warranty was basically useless, prorated down to the value of a chicken sandwich. OK, things happen.

Put a new Optima red top in the truck last April. This morning the wife reports the truck battery is dead. It's been sitting for a few weeks and without any real sun on the solar panel to charge it I thought... yea, not too surprising. Put the battery on the charger, and FOOF, the charger goes up in smoke. WTF? Put the meter on the battery, 5.2V. Wow.

Went to costco and got just a regular old battery for the truck. Done with Optimas, that's 2 failures out of 3 on 2 year old or less batteries with zero hard use. No winching, no crazy desert racing, just starting.

Now I have to go buy a new battery charger too, can't get that magic smoke to go back in.

I had great luck with them in the past in Jeeps, 4runners, etc but these last batches have turned me off for good.
 
Ouch...…..for what they cost they should give 0 problems. Have you tried contacting Optima?.... They might work with you. Something about the yellow top batteries in general- if they ever discharge (say you leave them in unused vehicle over the winter) they may not hold a charge again. I had a yellow top that was only 2 years old in a Jeep with a parasitic draw. I didn't drive it for about a month and it drained the battery which killed the battery (it would not retain a charge). After that I bought a redtop and a 2 amp trickle charger. When I didn't drive it, I made sure I hooked up to the charger overnight every other week, and I didn't have any problems after that.
 
Sitting for a few weeks killed your battery?

My FIL gave me a Ford Ranger with a cheapo Walmart battery in it that had been sitting for months and only been run once or twice, then I took a mess of time getting it on the road and it cranked first time.
 
BowWow said:
Ouch...…..for what they cost they should give 0 problems. Have you tried contacting Optima?.... They might work with you.
Click to expand...

They didn't last time, and I already dumped the red top as the 'core' on the new one so it's gone.
 
I get a decent discount on Interstate batteries. We use Optima batteries at work for our pipe lasers. But they stay hooked to a charger most times
 
Yeah. Tried one. Made it 18 months of use as a regular battery in my pick up. Out of warranty,blah, blah... needed a battery but was broke so a Walmart special it was. That one was just fine 5 years on when I sold the truck:rolleyes:

Like short fuse said, unless you have a weird mounting requirement. Leave those hunks of crap where they sit on the shelf:D
 
I’ve been using Northstar with success. It’s the best parts of a deep cycle and the best parts of a normal cranking battery mixed into one.
 
Have you checked for a parasitic battery drain or alternator fault?
 
I used to buy Optima’s but stopped after I tried to get a warranty replacement on the first one that I bought (dead at 3 years). After that I switched to Duralast Gold for several years. When Duralast reduced their warranty, I switched over to Panasonic from Batteries Plus.

I’m typically gettting 7-9 years out of a battery, which is good. The last time that I added them all up, if I had to replace all of the batteries here on the farm at once it would be north of 5K.
 
I ran into the same problem with a couple red tops a few years back in a car with the battery relocated to the trunk. Once they went down, they wouldn't hold a charge. Both were under the full warranty replacement. If they are sitting for more than a couple weeks, they need to have a battery tender on them.
 
I did try to get a reading on the dark load while the truck was sitting, but when i had the meter in series for the amps test the truck started freaking out. Lights flashing, relays clicking, etc. Not sure what I triggered there so I stopped.

The solar charge controller I have on there with a 25w panel which is acting as my battery tender was drawing 0.01A and my ham radio was drawing 0.05A while 'off'. I thought the solar panel could keep up with those tiny draws, but perhaps not so I've left them disconnect for now. I'll see how the new battery is doing in a week of sitting with nothing but the factory load on it.

I wonder if the trailer brake is drawing anything while sitting there?
 
Never had an Optima, but I know now to stay away from them.

I've always bought batteries at walmart. I used to get the 10 year batteries, but they don't make those anymore. 7's nearly impossible to find. 5's are crazy expensive. Seems every car battery these days is a 2 year battery.

How has technology got so bad?
 
I got 7 years on a Gold diehard, I drove 120 miles a day four days a week to ny city. Now I get barely three.
 
At that price point, has anyone tried Odyssey batteries?
 
I used to use Optima batteries in all the tractors and old cars. They moved production to Mexico about 6 years ago and quality went to crap. I still have 1 good one that
is going on 8 years old, but I am done with them.
 
I've been getting 5+ years out of NAPA Legend batteries in both the cars and motorcycle.
 
You guys in the Charlotte area should check out Battery Service on 24th street. I just buy whatever's cheapest, always asking for a blem if they have it. The last blem I bought was $45.00 (exchange), and had three years on it when I traded the truck. I run their cheapest batteries in both of my forklifts, and they are so old you can't read any of the labels any more. These things must get started 20-30 times a day.

Lead-acid batteries are all essentially the same. When you spend big bucks on a 5-, 7-, or 10-year warrantied battery, you're just making an advance payment on the next battery. There's absolutely no reason for them to last any longer than the cheap ones.
 
Went out to start the truck; been sitting since I put the new battery in. Cranked and started like it was happy to see me.

This story keeps getting told over and over again. Company A makes a good product. Company B buys company A, turns product to junk. There must be some big money in turning good products into bad. I guess it takes years for everyone to figure out "hey, this thing sucks now" and by then the execs at company B have laughed all the way to the bank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom