Optima Redtop

[Beemer92]

Just wondering if anyone else out there has had any failures with the Optima Redtop battery. Mines a 800cc that I had bought back in Febuary. It was doing fine in my Talon till my Talon broke. Any chance that not having it on any sort of charge for 7 -8 months cause it to not hold a charge of any kind?? I put it on the charger at my local Autozone according to the manufacters spec sheet online at optima's web site. Please help guys and girls. Thanks much. Josh

Just talked to my brother via text. He said the battery froze. Anyone ever hear of this in a gel type before?? The car and battery are in a shed, they have been since snow started. I'm about 40 miles north of Peoria, IL. It hasn't been that cold. It's been around 0 degrees F at the worst.

 

[nuclearr]

Did you leave the battery hooked up to the car? Freezing would be possible a gel cell would have a lower freezing point but I do not know what it is. I know in cold weather states newer cars (I can confirm on Chrysler's) have a "cold weather" option for battery warmer blankets and other items.

Edit: I did a google search and came up with this page, check it out (its from a BMW forum):
http://forum.e46fanatics.com/archive/index.php/t-637754.html

 

[2gGSXEclipse]

yea they only thing i have ever personally heard of optimas is liek you said....they have a special charging pattern..not like other batteries

 

[squeak104]

I work at Advance Auto, and when I was living in Indiana it seemed like I saw a Red Top come back as defective at least every other week. Different people of course. Since I have moved to Maryland I haven't seen a whole lot come through the store. Haven't seen nearly any Yellow Tops come back for warranty. I'd definitely rather get a Yellow Top over a Red. The one in my car has served me well for the past 2 years with zero problems. IIRC my friend's Red Top has been warrantied 3 times in the past two years.

 

[Boiler2]

I had my car in storage for 3 years just outside Chicago. It was driven once a month and had all kinds of issues with the Optima red top. Would never hold a charge. Went through multiple red tops. Ended up having to keep a trickle charger on it which helped. Currently running a yellow top and it is great with no issues but the car has not been in storage though.

 

[Beemer92]

Thanks for the info guys and girls!! It currently will not hold a charge. It's going back to my local Sam's Club. I'll check the price difference between a redtop and a yellow top. Thanks again for the help!!

 

[ZenkaiRacerDsM]

I havent had good luck with my Optimas. Both red and yellow tops. They worked like shit in the cold and the red top died completely while I was on deployment.

I now have an enermax from walmart, at least I think thats what its called. Its worked way better then the optimas in the cold. No more slow starts.

 

[shockracer]

when i was working on the Farm back in southern AZ we used Optimas Red top for most of the feld pump motors (454's and 460's and some detroits were in there aswell). we would be lucky to get 1 to 2 years out of them, we went back to regular ones and they seemed to last much longer. the only way i would use 1 now would be if i had to mount it on its side or upside down, other then that i say they are a waste of money

 

[Beemer92]

Thanks again for the info guys and girls. I'm kinda split between getting a regular battery and a yellow top. I plan on having an aftermarket stereo in the future. Not really sure if having a regular battery is going to have that much of a negative impact. I do plan on doing the Saturn alternator swap in the spring. I've heard it works really well from other members of the site. I have heard about the latest updates on the swap as well.

 

[nuclearr]

Just so you all know. I had a red top ran it for 4 years threw it away after it got flooded in 14' of salt water from a hurricane. I never tested it to see if it was still good probably was. But that battery never saw any reall cold. Bought in Fl and moved to Louisiana with it. It was in something like 5 or 6 differnt vehicles.

 

[907gs-t]

No problems here with my Red Top Optima & I live in Alaska been in my car for 2 years.

 

[Beemer92]

No problems here with my Red Top Optima & I live in Alaska been in my car for 2 years.

Maybe mine froze?? I don't know. For the record, I did not have it hooked up to the car the whole time, but it was installed in its oem location. The leads were disconnected. I just hope Sams Club doesn't rip me off tomorrow. I'll keep everyone posted on whats going on. I'll try and see if I can get a wet cell battery instead. I'm thinking a Interstate myself, but haven't a clue what's in stock at my local club. Thanks again.


P.S. Does anyone know how to mark a thread as resolved?? I plan on marking this thread as such later this week. Thanks.

Josh

 

[TRBOBLU]

I have been through 2 Optima red tops. Both of them sat in a car that wasn't driven for about half a year. Came back they were dead and would not take a charge over 7 volts. Basically, if you drain a red top one time from letting it sit then good luck getting the battery to ever recover via a charge. I am done with Optimas. 170 dollars a pop and you drain them once and they are dead.

 

[romeen]

I had a Red Top that started dying after about a year. I could not get it to hold more than 11V. After two attempts to get a new one under warranty I finally gave up and trashed it. I replaced it with a Duralast from Autozone 3 years ago and have not had any problems since.

 

[dsmtun3r98gst]

I have been through 2 Optima red tops. Both of them sat in a car that wasn't driven for about half a year. Came back they were dead and would not take a charge over 7 volts. Basically, if you drain a red top one time from letting it sit then good luck getting the battery to ever recover via a charge. I am done with Optimas. 170 dollars a pop and you drain them once and they are dead.

That goes for any battery that you leave sitting for a long time hooked the car. Another thing thing makes batteries go bad is using it for sumthing that the battery is not intended to or not taking care of it properly like letting it drain all the time. Iv'e had a Optima Red top for 3 years and i haven't had a single problem with it cus i only mainly use it for startups; not like some people that use it to power up their subs, amps, etc, and expect it to last for a long time

 

[907gs-t]

That goes for any battery that you leave sitting for a long time hooked the car. Another thing thing makes batteries go bad is using it for sumthing that the battery is not intended to or not taking care of it properly like letting it drain all the time. Iv'e had a Optima Red top for 3 years and i haven't had a single problem with it cus i only mainly use it for startups; not like some people that use it to power up their subs, amps, etc, and expect it to last for a long time

If they want to use it for there subs & amps maybe they should use a dedicated battery for there systems imo.WTF

 

[TRBOBLU]

That goes for any battery that you leave sitting for a long time hooked the car. Another thing thing makes batteries go bad is using it for sumthing that the battery is not intended to or not taking care of it properly like letting it drain all the time. Iv'e had a Optima Red top for 3 years and i haven't had a single problem with it cus i only mainly use it for startups; not like some people that use it to power up their subs, amps, etc, and expect it to last for a long time

It actually doesn't go for any kind of battery. I have used DieHards and autozone batteries that have sat and been killed numerous times and they come back every time. My last DieHard finally wouldn't take a charge after being killed nine times if my memory serves me correct. And who said anything about amps and subs? I race cars I dont hang out at "stereo on wheels". And for the record my brothers red top wouldnt hold a charge after dying once. He now keeps his replacement red top on a battery tender if he leaves the car sitting for more than a couple weeks. Batteries should not die from sitting a few months especially if the kill switch is flipped. I lost faith in red tops long ago. My family is now 0 for 3 when it comes to them and that is good enough for me to say I will NEVER spend $170 on a damn battery that can't sit a few months without having problems.

 

[dsmtun3r98gst]

ok then i guess. sux for you guys then..

(some of you guys that seem to know alot about batteries should go talk to the representative that provides batteries/trainning for us, and let him know that hes been lying to us the whole time about proper use, and that you know more than him even though u have never had any training on how they work whatsoever )

 

[TRBOBLU]

ok then i guess. sux for you guys then..

(some of you guys should go talk to the representative that provides batteries for our company/ trained us on how to recomend the right type of batteries cus i guess that he fed me and my co-workers bullshit then, even thought some of you have never even had any training on how batteries work )

Yeah perhaps some should research on how they work. I am a mechanical engineering major and need no explanation on how batteries or electrical systems work. My beef is with an overpriced battery with cells that crack and are ruined after dying and sitting where standard batteries will die and then come back with a charge. I have heard the whole sales pitch and technology behind optimas and all similar batteries. A good high school friend of mine is a manager at Batteries Plus and has already explained to me why Optimas are ruined after a good drain. We both come to the same conclusion that there are better choices out there for less money.

 

[dsmtun3r98gst]

that I can say that im with on it that if you let a optima battery drain its no longer going to be good; but thats why you dont let it drain to begin with. if they werent any good..... why is my still in perfect conditions after 3 years???

 

[TRBOBLU]

that I can say that im with on it that if you let a optima battery drain its no longer going to be good; but thats why you dont let it drain to begin with. if they werent any good..... why is my still in perfect conditions after 3 years???

The car sits because I race it in the summer and it sits for the other 6 months in Ohio when the weather is shitty. Getting the battery out of my battery box in the trunk is a royal pain in the ass and a two person job. I also am not going to run a 30' extension cord from the one garage to where the car is stored to run a battery tender. So, if I don't have the help of my brother to remove the battery on my time, the car ends up sitting because I don't go out where my car is stored a whole lot. Simple as that. The crazy thing is the $60 DieHards will still start the car after 6 months.

EDIT: A quick google search will show a large number of people that complain about Optimas. Much more than I have found with other battery brands. Apparently the people who are extremely satisfied with Optimas are the ones that owned Optimas before they were bough out by another company.

 

[jking29]

that I can say that im with on it that if you let a optima battery drain its no longer going to be good; but thats why you dont let it drain to begin with. if they werent any good..... why is my still in perfect conditions after 3 years???

I have had a $39 Autozone battery in mine for 5 years, so what's your point? During that time it has been drained multiple times and keeps coming back. I've known multiple people that have bought a red top and junked it during that time.

 

[dsmtun3r98gst]

The car sits because I race it in the summer and it sits for the other 6 months in Ohio when the weather is shitty. Getting the battery out of my battery box in the trunk is a royal pain in the ass and a two person job. I also am not going to run a 30' extension cord from the one garage to where the car is stored to run a battery tender. So, if I don't have the help of my brother to remove the battery on my time, the car ends up sitting because I don't go out where my car is stored a whole lot. Simple as that. The crazy thing is the $60 DieHards will still start the car after 6 months.

EDIT: A quick google search will show a large number of people that complain about Optimas. Much more than I have found with other battery brands. Apparently the people who are extremely satisfied with Optimas are the ones that owned Optimas before they were bough out by another company.

So what your saying is that just because Optima got bought out they make crappy batteries now??? how long ago was that????

 

[TRBOBLU]

I have had a $39 Autozone battery in mine for 5 years, so what's your point? During that time it has been drained multiple times and keeps coming back. I've known multiple people that have bought a red top and junked it during that time.

Yeah it's extremely common to hear what you just said. If I had the luxury to drive my talon regularly or have it on a battery tender I would definately run an Optima. I like the idea that they are sealed and will not leak liquids which other batteries can do.

 

[dsmtun3r98gst]

I have had a $39 Autozone battery in mine for 5 years, so what's your point? During that time it has been drained multiple times and keeps coming back. I've known multiple people that have bought a red top and junked it during that time.

What im saying is THAT OPTIMA BATTERIES ARE NOT MEANT TO BE DRAINED OUT cus they cant handle drain charge drain, in a way i get your point that they can suck; but evrything in this world has its ups and down you know. Any battery that you let drain and then charged isn't going to hang for as long as a battery that was never drained out.

(damn you cheap.... buying used batteries from autozone . unless you got a killer deal on a new one i cant figure out how you got one for $39)

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