Drwojo Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 I am a little upset right now with my optima battery. I purchased one of these about february b/c my original battery was toast. After a few months I couldn't get it to take a charge. My charger kept saying "open cell/sulfated condition" had it replaced under warranty. Now every time I go to move my car the damn thing is dead. Do I just need a battery tender or optimas just a pain to keep charged? I a pissed that 170 bucks gets me a headach. I wanted something dry cell b/c I have my battery relocated in the back of the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killtodie Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 how often do you drive the car? do you have a sound system installed? are your grounds and fuseable links good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DryBear Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 I've read somewhere that the newer Optima Red tops made in Mexico are crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.andaya Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 ive had nothing but problems with optima yellow tops, i bought mine at pepboys and they discontinued them because they kept coming back lol. what a waste of money, maybe next time ill go with a deka or sumin simular. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
domesticslayer83 Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 damn ive had nothing but good luck with my optimas i got 8 years out of a red top and it went with my 240 when i sold it and the guy is still using it the yellow top i got now has performed perfectly check youre grounds and youre charging system bro i bet you find a problem with one of those rather than youre optima Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jahjah Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 if this is for your 87.... I beleieve the 87s have a problem where a certain computer goes out and causes a battery drain? Its been a few years since i had an 87, i cant remember exactly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Some 87s had a bad etacs that would drain the battery after a few days. I've had nothing but good luck with optimas. Mine are over 10 years old and still going strong. You need to check to see if you have a power drain that's killing the battery when it's off. Also check the alternator. These cars will run for quite awhile with no alternator and a fully charged battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drwojo Posted December 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Yes this is for my 87. I should go through and double check the grounds. I have one coming right off the battery bolted to to the bottom of the hatch. It is very clean. The only other one I know of is on the block but I do not use that because of the relocation. As far as I know all the fusible links are fine. Maybe I got an awesome mexico optima. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Even if you have relocated your battery you need a ground attached to the engine. The starter needs that ground. It will still work without it but you run the risk of damaging things. Without that ground the starter will pull power from wherever it can. Through the driveshaft, the small ground on the trans, the speedo cable, etc. If your battery is in the trunk and is grounded straight to the chassis then just run a ground from the engine bay to the block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drwojo Posted December 28, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Thank you. That makes sense. Will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Al Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Even if you have relocated your battery you need a ground attached to the engine. The starter needs that ground. It will still work without it but you run the risk of damaging things. Without that ground the starter will pull power from wherever it can. Through the driveshaft, the small ground on the trans, the speedo cable, etc. If your battery is in the trunk and is grounded straight to the chassis then just run a ground from the engine bay to the block. Ig I remember correctly, the original ground (at least in my '88) runs from the block to the engine bay just behind the battery tray then it goes to the battery itself. So you should be able to put that ground wire back in place and just lop off the length that goes from the bay to the battery to clear up the extra wire and keep things from dangling loosely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pure_insanity Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 the problem aint in the grounds. its those crappy arse pos optima batteries. they suck worse than anything that has ever sucked before. i bought 2 of the blue tops for a hydraulic system, and they started to suck at about 2 weeks old. took them back to where i bought them and they said they checked fine but obviously had no power in them. they wouldnt warranty them and i needed to contact optima. caontacted optima and they said i needed to go thru whoever i purchased them from. i got bounced around and basically ended up trashing them both. 2 batteries at like 140 each and got something like 2 weeks worth of use out of them. bullstinky. on another occasion i had a customer bring me a optima yellow top to put in his truck i was building. the battery wouldnt start the truck from day one. he returned it and got another and it lasted about a month. ive heard lots of horror stories and it boils down to they are just crap. go in and raise hell till they give your money back then go buy someone elses battery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89PalermoSHP Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 buy a diehard and paint the top red, problem solved... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim si Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 i just replaced my red top 2 weeks ago with a 75 dollar walmart batt.and its so nice to go out and crank my car without having to hook up the charger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8starion Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 I have had no problems at all with my Redtops. I have two in the blazer(around 4 yrs) & one in the starion(5+yrs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craig87 Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 my yellow top dies every winter left in the car connected I charge it PROPERLY and its good all year it been in my car for 5 years and it was used when i got it. remember low amperage long charge time. invest in a charger that is designed for a agm battery and it will charge it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstar88 Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 My red top works good...gona be putting it in the truck area this summer. Daniel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreal Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 I have a red top optima in a V12 Jaguar that I rarely drive and it has been the best battery experience I've ever had. It has never gone dead and always has full charge. The car sat dormant for an entire year, unstarted, untouched. With battery hooked up and dash clock keeping time, along with radio time. First turn of the key it fired right up - - this is after a year. All seasons even winter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killtodie Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 http://www.odysseyfactory.com/ or bust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasQuest Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 I've had to replace 4 red tops total between my 2 cars. Luckily they were not long after I got them so I had warranty. They are a pain in the butt, I wont be buying anymore after these Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natedog_37 Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 I have nothing but bad things to say about Optima Red.. Had one in my 3g eclipse would die ever winter, and at the end wouldn't even hold a charge to start the car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boostinstar Posted December 29, 2009 Report Share Posted December 29, 2009 I've had No issue with my red top and my yellow top. you just need a charger that supports the special battery technology otherwise when its dead the charger will refuse to charge it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ucw458 Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Modern chargers will sometimes refuse to charge an optima but the old fashioned chargers will. You just need a charger without all the extra gadgets. I don't have an AGM approved charger. I just use old school chargers and my optimas have lasted more than 10 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burton Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Optimas are a pain if you don't charge them properly both when new, and further down the road. They don't hold up well to jumping or fast charges. As I recall, they require a super fast charge when new but if they recieve fast charges after that it can kill em quick. We had problems with them at the hot rod shop I used to work at, but after a call to the Optima reps and support, they told us how to do it properly and we never had a problem again. Make sure your car doesn't have too much drain on the battery when the car's off, and call Optima to see what you can do to extend the lifespan on them. Optimas are good batteries, so there's gotta be something else going on. I'll be replacing my Auto Zone Everlast batteries with Optimas when (if) they ever die. I gotta say the Auto Zone batteries are the best "cheap" batteries I've ever used. I've fried Die Hards in a fraction of the time these AZ batteries have lasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boosted77. Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 i just replaced my red top 2 weeks ago with a 75 dollar walmart batt.and its so nice to go out and crank my car without having to hook up the charger. Same here. I just traded in my 5 year old battery and it still had a $30 pro-rated value. So I paid $45 with tax. 3 year free replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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