Metalbender
-=WTF=-
I am on my 3rd Optima red top in a year. My first 2 batteries stopped taking a charge, and my latest one swapped polarity. How does this happen? At least they have a good warranty, but this is getting old.
-
Help Support Hardline Crawlers :
Optima Batteries woes!
- Thread starter Metalbender
- Start date
PORTER
Well-Known Member
Optima quality has went down the shitter. I have replaced many in cust rigs that dont even last a year. I now run Exide orbitol(sp) and have been happy with their power/long lasting quality.
Metalbender
-=WTF=-
if this one goes bad I will not even replace it with another I will go with something else
cheesemaker
Well-Known Member
I've heard more complaints about them than good. To the point that I'll never buy one!
4xjunkie
Well-Known Member
and my latest one swapped polarity. How does this happen?
The only way to switch polarity is to totally drain it, and charge it with the chager leads hooked up backwards.
As far as I know , the battery can't switch on it own.
WHITE TRASH1
fruit stripe
I havent been too impressed with red tops. Ive killed 3 of them in the past. They worked great until I killed them the first time then it was down hill from there...
Peanut has a yellow top which is kinda old and it totally kicks ass, Ive killed it with my stereo several times. Turn the stereo off, wait a few minutes and the rig will start to charge the battery back up.
Im on my second blue top exide. Works good for the most part. But it doesnt have the longest reserve time.
Peanut has a yellow top which is kinda old and it totally kicks ass, Ive killed it with my stereo several times. Turn the stereo off, wait a few minutes and the rig will start to charge the battery back up.
Im on my second blue top exide. Works good for the most part. But it doesnt have the longest reserve time.
CHOP SHOP
Well-Known Member
they need daily charging (driving to maintain). if put in a wheeler or hotrod that doesnt get run daily it starts to take less and less charge:booo: .
its kinda like a cordless phone, if you leave it on the charger it will work for long calls but if you only charge it at night or when its dead, they seem to drain very quickly and you cant seem to bring them back
I have about 10 dead optimas from over the years and am sad they seem to market them to people that have speacility vehicles that dont get driven much
I have even tried thier deep cycles (blue and yellow) and they suck too. I have red, blue, yellow, orange, and a couple of funny looking red and black ones = all junk.
if used in a daily driver they are great and recover quickly and are sealed nicely:awesomework: otherwise=poopuke:
its kinda like a cordless phone, if you leave it on the charger it will work for long calls but if you only charge it at night or when its dead, they seem to drain very quickly and you cant seem to bring them back
I have about 10 dead optimas from over the years and am sad they seem to market them to people that have speacility vehicles that dont get driven much
I have even tried thier deep cycles (blue and yellow) and they suck too. I have red, blue, yellow, orange, and a couple of funny looking red and black ones = all junk.
if used in a daily driver they are great and recover quickly and are sealed nicely:awesomework: otherwise=poop
uke:97zjvinny
Well-Known Member
I just replaced my one year old optima. Good thing they come with a warranty .It got so bad I could not leave the door open when I'm working on my jeep. :looser: Dome lights = dead battery?! :haha:
.It got so bad I could not leave the door open when I'm working on my jeep. :looser: Dome lights = dead battery?! :haha:JoeOffRoad
New Member
- Joined
- Feb 14, 2008
- Messages
- 4
battery
Optima had a rather VERY quite recall... Actually they denie any recall, but when I was working at a local parts store, my distributor came in and swapped out almost every optima I had on the shelf.. In every series. Then told us to test every battery before it gets sold... That is when I went to the Exide Orbitals. Same idea as the Optima, but improved core design. I have one in my Trooper (DD) and my Jeep, even my motor home. I have had ZERO problems. my .02
I am on my 3rd Optima red top in a year. My first 2 batteries stopped taking a charge, and my latest one swapped polarity. How does this happen? At least they have a good warranty, but this is getting old.
Optima had a rather VERY quite recall... Actually they denie any recall, but when I was working at a local parts store, my distributor came in and swapped out almost every optima I had on the shelf.. In every series. Then told us to test every battery before it gets sold... That is when I went to the Exide Orbitals. Same idea as the Optima, but improved core design. I have one in my Trooper (DD) and my Jeep, even my motor home. I have had ZERO problems. my .02
Bronczilla
Project STINKY Superviser
they need daily charging (driving to maintain). if put in a wheeler or hotrod that doesnt get run daily it starts to take less and less charge:booo: .
its kinda like a cordless phone, if you leave it on the charger it will work for long calls but if you only charge it at night or when its dead, they seem to drain very quickly and you cant seem to bring them back
I have about 10 dead optimas from over the years and am sad they seem to market them to people that have speacility vehicles that dont get driven much
I have even tried thier deep cycles (blue and yellow) and they suck too. I have red, blue, yellow, orange, and a couple of funny looking red and black ones = all junk.
if used in a daily driver they are great and recover quickly and are sealed nicely:awesomework: otherwise=poop
If that is true it explains alot. Ive had to warrenty over 15 Optimas in the last 4 1/2 years, the same amount of time my rig has been trail only.......:eeek:
TigTorch
Well-Known Member
Great.... I just bought one.:booo:
I've heard of failures from shorting out internally.
In looking at the battery and reading about how it is built; i'm thinking the battery is sensitive to rough handling and impacts to the case causing internal shorts to the "cinamon roll" layering of the cells. Because of this, I built a custom rubber lined tray for mine which I finished and installed this last week. I'm hoping my theory is true and this ends up being the best battery I've ever had.........hoping. (Mines a blue top deep cycle)
I've heard of failures from shorting out internally.
In looking at the battery and reading about how it is built; i'm thinking the battery is sensitive to rough handling and impacts to the case causing internal shorts to the "cinamon roll" layering of the cells. Because of this, I built a custom rubber lined tray for mine which I finished and installed this last week. I'm hoping my theory is true and this ends up being the best battery I've ever had.........hoping. (Mines a blue top deep cycle)
ToyZuki
Well-Known Member
Now I know. I've been trying to bring mine back to life after setting 3 mon. and no luck. I guess its a paper weight now?
Jeepasaurusrex
Well-Known Member
Remember, you have to slow charge them. You cannot put them on a 20amp charge and expect them to come back to life. Put it on a slow 2amp charge for a long period of time, they will come back. I've had one red top for over 8 years with no issues. :redneck:
Bronczilla
Project STINKY Superviser
Ill trade ya my new one:awesomework:
Not Jobless
Mr Funbags
Knock on wood...I put two in the tow rig over a year ago and no issues yet.
Thats why you haven't had issues, the older ones don't have as many issues. I ran an Optima, and it crapped out on me. I forgot to turn my battery shut-off switch off in my wheeler, came out 2 days later to move the truck so I could do some work on it. it was stone dead. took it down to my local battery shop, they couldn't get it to come back. Tried to warranty it, but my reciept was on thermal paper and over the year I owned it, the ink faded and you couldn't read it so the shop refused to warranty it because I had no proof I bought the battery from them.
So I went to Exide Orbital. More battery for less money, and I've killed it twice in the last 18 months by not killing the shut off switch. Both times I just trickle charged it for a day and it came right back to life.
Optima's bring the :rb: :rb: :rb:
Metalbender
-=WTF=-
That is what happed to my first 2 I drained them not shutting off my shut-off and the last one I did shut off and 2 days after wheeling I went out to put it on the trickle charger and it sparked at me. (WTF) I checked it with my volt meter and it showed it still had 10 volts left negative charge
crazybluerider1
Well-Known Member
It seems like the older batteries last quite a bit longer. I have had a yellow top in my zuk for 5 years now and when I moved to portland it sat for almost a year with out running. When I went to bring it to bring it down it fired right up.
CHOP SHOP
Well-Known Member
old, new, it dont matter they are all junk. I quite using them before they got shittty cuz they were already shitty, have been since day one.
and the slow charge **** is what the retailer says when making excuses for his shitty and expensive product. it doesnt matter how you charge them=junk.
they have such a low internal resistance it fools the charger into thinking it is charged, when it is not. start feeding it and after a little while it will start taking juice and max out the charger as the resistance changes:booo:
you can clip a test light on one for a couple of days and drain it completly and then charge it backwards if you like. it will opperate like normal, just display polarity wrong.
wanna really have fun try diagnosing a combo of hot start probs and charging probs or regulator trouble. this battery will make each scenerio different than a standard lead acid plate battery and act strangly disguising the real problemm.:booo:
a lead acid plate battery will take more abuse. I have seen optimas fall over and make a little spark on the fender and presto=junk=burned inside=open circut.uke: now I have seen old plate batteries burn through the backsides of hoods, melt cables, burn wrenches, fall over and make two holes in the inner fender well and still start the vehicle.:cheer:
try the welding with two optimas trick and see how long they last.:corn: now use some old plate batteries and presto your welding!!
think about large equipment, they havent gone to any kind of spiral cell cuz its not industrial and wont be reliable, same with semi trucks.
but hey they look cool like a 6 pack of beer.:awesomework:
why do you guys keep buying them one after another???????? dont you learn?
and the slow charge **** is what the retailer says when making excuses for his shitty and expensive product. it doesnt matter how you charge them=junk.
they have such a low internal resistance it fools the charger into thinking it is charged, when it is not. start feeding it and after a little while it will start taking juice and max out the charger as the resistance changes:booo:
you can clip a test light on one for a couple of days and drain it completly and then charge it backwards if you like. it will opperate like normal, just display polarity wrong.
wanna really have fun try diagnosing a combo of hot start probs and charging probs or regulator trouble. this battery will make each scenerio different than a standard lead acid plate battery and act strangly disguising the real problemm.:booo:
a lead acid plate battery will take more abuse. I have seen optimas fall over and make a little spark on the fender and presto=junk=burned inside=open circut.
uke: now I have seen old plate batteries burn through the backsides of hoods, melt cables, burn wrenches, fall over and make two holes in the inner fender well and still start the vehicle.:cheer: try the welding with two optimas trick and see how long they last.:corn: now use some old plate batteries and presto your welding!!
think about large equipment, they havent gone to any kind of spiral cell cuz its not industrial and wont be reliable, same with semi trucks.
but hey they look cool like a 6 pack of beer.:awesomework:
why do you guys keep buying them one after another???????? dont you learn?
GRNTACO
This Space Blank
I've had mine over 3 years and no problems. It just sets on the trailer until I wheel it. I've probably used the winch 30 times with it too.:awesomework:
