And the hits keep coming - Redtop battery dead after 1 year

I have to tell you, I'm losing faith in the auto parts industry real quick here. I've only had this truck on the road for a month now and the parts failures are unbelievable. I bought an Optima redtop last September, and didn't actually hook it up until just a couple months ago. My charging system is working fine and I have a master kill switch that I use to kill the juice every single time I park the truck....so no shorts or overnight draw down. I actually only have about 7 hours of run-time on this battery...maybe. It fired up and ran great 2 days ago - battery was dead when I went to drive the truck after work last night, may have shorted. I need to load test it still, but I have a feeling it's yet another parts failure of an outsourced, non American made product. Getting TIRED of this $h!t!

EDIT: And yes, it falls under warranty and will be replaced for free, but to get it out I have to drop the exhaust system and the battery box from the frame rails (at least a hour worth of work in tight quarters)...that's why I bought a sealed battery in the first place...so I wouldn't have to mess with it. Go figure...

 

That sure does suck. I have a Duralast that had sat in my car for a year with everything hooked up and couldn't drive it. When it came time, it cranked right up and gave me 3 more years of use. I have yet to see what all the hoopla is over a damn Optima. Other than the name.

I'd find another place for that battery, if it was me.

 

How did you try charging it? You cannot use a regular charger if it has died. You either need a special charger or you need to hook the charger to another regular battery and run jumper cables to the Optima. That being said there have been lots of complaints about their quality over the last few years. Also when not in use for extended periods you need to have a battery tender on them or they will die just like any other battery.

 

Talking to Elpolacko yesterday and he has gone through two in his shop truck in the past few years. Not the good old re tops we used to get. Heck, the factory battery in my daily Ranger lasted 11 years worth of cold winters and hot summers!

 

Optima's have been crap for the last 7-8 years. Check out the offroad world and you will see a ton of issues. I had issues with the last 3 I owned and will never own another one.

Odyssey batteries are one of the top rated "gel" type. Sears Platinum batteries are rebadged Odyssey's built by Odyssey and work great. I have owned 4 of them so far and have had zero issues. They also have a GREAT warranty. Many have been moving over to these due to all the issues with Optima's.

I have a pair in my Dodge Cummins powered truck and it was parked since mid April with the alarm on, power for the radio memory, etc. and went to fire it up this past weekend and started right up like the day I put them in. Similar in my Cherokee I had, where is would sit for 6-8 months and then fire right up.

 

I guess I figured a $170 battery would last...stupid me.

The problem I have at this point is that I won't get a refund, only a replacement battery. I was told by the Interstate rep that they are making their own AGM to replace the Optima...maybe I can get him to credit me toward one of those instead.

 

I know the Interstate dealer near me sells Odyssey batteries so maybe they can credit you to one of them.

 

Couple of things. Did you bring it up to full charge after it had sat for almost a year not used?

You say you only have about 7 hours total tun time on it. Does that mean it has endured lots of starting and shutting off, or very short drives?
That can be very hard on a battery. Every time you start a vehicle, if it starts right away with no real cranking time, it takes an "average" of 20 minutes of running time ABOVE IDLE to bring the battery back to where it started, IF you have a good charging system. For every bit of longer cranking, it takes even longer to bring it back to full charge. Sitting idling does very little to charge a battery back up.

 

"but to get it out I have to drop the exhaust system and the battery box from the frame rails (at least a hour worth of work in tight quarters)"

Could the space and the battery be getting heat from the exhaust? Just a thought.

 

Why would anyone spend $170 on a battery thats known to be a POS? Costco Batteries are cheaper then Wally World, Auto Zone and Advanced Auto Parts by at least $25-$30 and come with a better warrantee. I learned a long time ago to buy the cheapest battery you can find. They are all made by three U.S. companies anyway.

 

Hey...thanks guys for the quick but informative posts!! Ready to buy battery for project and will stay away from Optima...that was what I was going to buy!!

 

went through a 2 red tops and yellow top Optima junk never again ... have a pep boys special in now for the last 3 years no problem -

 

damn buzz! that is typical right?

I bought a reman distributor, ran about 100 miles on it and it took a dump, got another.. ran 25 miles and the condenser went bad. I went through 4 new coils and right out of the box 3 were bad, the 4th was good. I have zero faith in this stuff now...

I just bought an HEI from bubba here on the HAMB because I can't find decent enough stuff around here. lol. How is she driving other than the crap battery? I have yet to see a burnout video, so get that engine broken in

 

that is a good question ^ and might have something to do with the short life of the battery.

 

She's really smooth when she's standing still in the driveway.

Hell, it's about as typical as an itchy scrotum I guess...

BTW: I didn't pay full boat on this battery (paid about 1/3 - yes, brand new), but it's still a $170 battery.

The only reason I went with a sealed/gel type battery is because of it being under the truck. As far as heat sync, there's a 3" space to the exhaust and a heat shield about midway between the exhaust and the battery.

As far as drive time, my typical drive time has been anywhere between 30 minutes and an hour. Also, I had no idea I needed to recharge an unused battery...damn.

 

Yeah, having the battery that close to the exhaust, heat shield or not, may have an impact on it's lifespan. I'd consider moving the battery to a cooler spot, and one that's more easily accessible.....like maybe the truck bed, or under the hood in the stock location.

 

The stock location just isn't going to happen. I may go to under the bed, but the shield dissipates a huge amount of heat. I know that typical underhood temps (stock location) can reach 200+ degrees, and that's with very little airflow. I'll have to find a way to measure temp at the base of the battery, but I'd have a hard time believing it's close to 200. The pipes are probably only around 300 at that point that far away from the engine, and then the shield has to cut that in half, at least.

 

I only purchase 2 battery brands.... NAPA Gold. and Interstate Black top... The rest of the MFG aren't worth the headache.... Ya I get only a few companies make batteries, but those are the 2 that last and last....

If room allows, I buy them for a 1997 through 2002 Ford SuperDuty with a 7.3 Stroke. They have the longest reserve capacity.....Meaning the plates are thick....

Buick Roadmaster and Caddys have the next closest reserve capacity....

 

K13 is right! The way optimas work is that once they fall under a certain amperage they will not take on a charge (stupid right?) link the battery to a regular battery and charge it that way.

here is a video that explains it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHE8Vnw0CV8

 

Here's a link to a thread I started last week.Pretty good battery info here.
http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=825680

 

Work on Ot diesel vehicles for a living, mainly light duty stuff... 3/4 ton 1 ton trucks... Even with a pair of Optimus if left over night truck won't start, absolute junk... Auto zone is the only place where the word (marine) means cheaper. So I get marine type durulast batteries for cheap with a good warranty. And marine type posts are cleaner...


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Ideal ambient temperature for batteries is 77 degrees F. Anything higher/lower will compromise it's life/output capacity. So I'd look for a location more suited to get closer to this ideal condition.

 

Another Optima thread- again?

They are Junk now and if you buy one , well its hard to say you didn't know.

They used to be the top of the line "no worries" battery, things changed.

 

Wow, two dozen posts and nobody has blamed concrete floors for sucking the life out of batteries.

 

Two bad Optima batteries in two different vehicles here. Never again!

 

It actually used to be kind of true a long time ago. It was when battery cases leaked just a Little bit and discolored the concrete floor. Battery cases now are perfectly sealed and this is not a problem.

Batteries stored on the concrete are actually a little cooler, which these days is better for battery storage. Batteries go dead from not topping off the charge often enough. got to check them every 60 days.

 

LOL, wasn't on a concrete floor once, but good point.

 

I had the same problem. Dicked around with it off and on for 2 years. Turned out that the alternator wasn't putting out enough juice. It was working.... just not enough to keep the battery topped up.
Don't know what to make of the concrete floor and car batteries..... I pulled the battery out of my car in October, put it on the concrete floor in my shop. went to use it just last week, that's 11 months on concrete. It still had a full charge.

 

I think the only battery that has ever given me grief was an optima.

 

I have used the same Kirkland battery in my 59 for 10 years...may be time for a new one.

On another note, the exhaust heAt isn't affecting the battery is it?


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