I missed the link. Lo siento. No, I said that I went through several Optimas in two cars in the ten years that the one has been in the Ranchero, and that other local rodders/friends have gone through several Mexican Optimas. I have bought one new Optima from a craigslist seller so far. And what does craigslist have to do with negative comments about batteries? We all go there to look for good deals on stuff, your products included. You can buy them there new or used, with or without warranty - search the Phoenix craigslist to see. I bought one brand new from a guy who told me that he knows a higher-up at Interstate, and that he buys them from him to resell on CL for a modest profit. The story seemed legit, because the battery was obviously brand new, in Optima/Interstate marked shrink wrap with the red spacer tray on top. Mexican unit, date J-9 (Oct. '09) and I got it from him in November '09. Paid $100, seller did not offer a warranty, but for a $70+ savings, I just took a chance. So I have been running it for 1.5 years now with no problems thus far. Will it last as long as an Aurora unit? I'll let you know. I had a bad experience with a retailer who refused to replace a bad Optima, instead taking it from me on three occasions, testing it themselves, and proclaiming it to be good; giving me the usual story about how my alternator or regulator was bad (they weren't) and relenting only when I filed a report on them with the BBB. There is nothing like some schmuck manager telling a professional mechanic that he doesn't know how to check a charging system, even when I did it right in front of him with my Fluke digital VOM which showed 13.1 volts at the battery at an idle. I have four cars with Optimas, all the large size and not the smaller cheaper unit, which I have tried a couple of times in the past with very poor results: The one I just mentioned, a '92 Mustang, '93 Mustang Cobra with a Colorado unit, date sticker 3/06. That car is rarely driven, garaged, disconnect switch on neg post, and it works fine every time I use it. No battery tender used. '60 Comet, Mexican unit, receipt date 3/08, no date sticker visible. Hot rod, rarely driven, garaged, disconnect switch, no tender. Second one on this car, first one bought 4/07, failed in one year, Pep Boys replaced with no hassle and the new one has been fine since. '65 Ranchero, USA unit and you guys were proud of that back then; it says it in three places, the sticker, molded in the case, and molded in the strap. Makes me want to salute it. No date sticker visible, receipt date 6/01, so unquestionably ten years old give or take a month. Occasional driver, 5.0 EFI engine, battery mounted in the bed compartment behind the cab, out of engine bay heat, so that may well have played a role in how long this one has lasted. It's not perfect, as it doesn't like to sit for more than a month without discharging, so a battery tender is used about half the sitting time and it fires the engine every time like day one. Jim, I like Optimas, or I wouldn't have four cars with them. When they work, they are great batteries. I've had them fail, but like I said, I like them because they don't ooze acid and my cars all have nice tidy engine bays, so I'm pretty forgiving. However, I won't pay the $180+ that they retail for today, the Pep Boys battery was $119 and the most I have paid at a store was $140 where the '93 Cobra unit (among the last USA units) came from. When the Mexican units came along, the price went up instead of down. That's why I am chancing no warranty, and if they don't hold up for at least five years, I'll have to go to something else. -KK
slammed, I don't know that an infomercial filled with the facts I've presented here or any additional factual information will make any difference for some folks. Optima tends to be a very conservative company, which sometimes limits what I am allowed to post online. I am allowed to post links to things other people post, like this video, which shows our batteries at both the :04 and :08 second mark. I realize that pile of equipment doesn't look like much as it slides out the back of the plane, but it is pretty impressive when they get it all set up. While there is some smoke, there are no mirrors. Francisco & Von Rigg Fink, as she posted, her voltage tested fine and when she returned it to her retailer, she had the option of receiving a new Optima under warranty, which she declined. Weedburner, while we cannot recommend charging our batteries to the voltage rate you did, I'm glad to hear your RedTop is performing well for you. Sometimes when batteries are deeply-discharged, it is helpful to cycle to the battery from full-charge down to about 11 volts and back a few times, to help break up the sulfation that has occurred within the battery. KK, with over 100 posts, I can understand how easy it might be to miss my link in post #108. I'm glad to hear your craiglist seller was honest about the lack of warranty and I'm also glad to hear you had so much confidence in our batteries, that you paid $100 for one that didn't include any warranty. I certainly won't question your knowledge as a professional mechanic, but I will say that we recommend alternator output of approximately 13.7-14.7 volts. I checked another manufacturer for comparison's sake and they recommend a range of 14.0-14.7 volts. Charging and checking all batteries returned under warranty is fairly standard practice throughout the industry and I apologize for the inconveniences that caused you. Jim McIlvaine eCare Manager/very happy shareholder, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc. www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
I had an experience with the 6 volt Optima in my '51 Ford this spring that I think I should share. When I got back from Florida, I tried to start the car. It would turn over slowly, but not fast enough to start the car. I thought, "What the heck, I'll just charge it up". I put my 6 volt battery charger on it and came back a couple of days later, and it was that same thing, turns over, but not fast enough to start a car that had been sitting all winter. I checked and cleaned all of the connections, and put the charger back on. I came back a couple of days later, and it was the same thing. About this time I was thinking "Damn Optima, didn't even last 6 years!". I remembered this thread and the part about needing a special charging technique, but I didn't have a spare fully charged 6 volt battery around (who does?). I then remembered that I had made a variable 10 amp DC power supply to "zap" the Ni-Cad batteries in my portable drills etc. Long story short, I set it at 7.15 volts and hooked it and my regular 6 volt charger up, and two hours later, it was fully charged and worked fine. I think my mistake was thinking that, just because the battery had enough charge in it to turn the car over, however slowly, it had enough juice to be charged the "regular" way. This is apparently not so, as it wouldn't take a charge when I initially hooked it up. This all happened about 6 weeks ago, and the Optima is still performing excellently. The car has set for as long as 2 weeks since then (I was out of town that long), and it turned over great and started right up when I got back. It looks like the method of charging is important with these. By the way, I got the Optima when it became impossible to find group 2L batteries locally. I had been using group 1 batteries, and had been having a hell of a time trying to start the car when it was hot on warm days. The Optima solved that problem completely. I don't think a group 1 battery has enough oomph to start even a stock flathead. If this Optima goes even a couple of more years I'll be very happy. We'll see.
I've had a red top in my OT daily driver for the past 6 years and it's performed admirably. The first was a factory install, second was replaced at two weeks before warranty ran out. With the replacement cost of a factory side terminal battery being within $20 of the cost of the red top, I went with the red top. From a cost/benefit standpoint, I think I've made out on it just fine. My other DD has been running a red top for the last two years with no issues. Care and maintenance on both amounts to a cursory glance at oil change time. Both have made it through temperature extremes form +115 down to -5 and have performed exactly as I expected. It's really something, to let a vehicle cold soak in sub zero temperatures for 18+ hours and the only effect on the vehicle is it starts in 5 cranks instead of 3. I credit that performance to the battery.
Got 8 1/2 years out of my last one! but I put one in my friends 32 and didn't get a year?? Maybe the china thing now??
HRBOB34, I'm glad to hear you had a good experience with your battery and I'm sorry to hear about your friend's experience. Fortunately, if there was an issue with his battery, that was well within our free replacement warranty period. While we do sell a lot of batteries all over the world, including China, we do not manufacture our batteries there and battery sales in those countries have not compromised the quality of our products in any way. Jim McIlvaine eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc. www.powerpacknation.com
Jim, I wonder if you could help with a Red Top (34R) which seems to be faulty. I'd really like to know its date of manufacture. It has 1079 heat stamped into the casing and the terminals are further from the corners (14cm between centres) than they look in recent pictures, so I'm wondering if it was left on a shelf for a long time before I got it. If you could explain how to decipher the four figure code, it may help others too. I have seen old posts (pre 2009) which say the first figure is the year of manufacture... Thanks.
I have a red top in my 33 ford coupe [11years] and one in my wifes 51 ford [3 years] with no problems. I use battery tenders when I store them for the winter but do nothing special otherwise. I have one in a cat 941 track loader that is ment to have 2 12 volt batterys in series. it works fine. I wouldnt think twice about buying another one. I hope bragging doesn't bring me bad luck now.
Hi Optimus, the first digit in the side case burn code is the year of manufacture and the next three numbers are the Julian day of the year (March 20<SUP>th</SUP>). How long have you had the battery and what kind of problems are you having? Spidercoupe, I'm glad to hear about the success you've been having with your Optimas. We're always collecting stories for our Wall of Power display. Last year we flew three guys out to Vegas for SEMA, who submitted their stories to us and it sounds like we're planning on doing the same thing this year. You can submit your story here. Jim McIlvaine eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc. www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
I got a used yellow top optima battery from my brother over 10 years ago and it still works, probably a 14 year old battery. I've had a blue top optima in my daily driver van for 2 years that I got used, at least a 7 year old battery. I've got a 6-volt red top optima in my RPU that's at least 7 years old, and another optima 6-volt that's 4 years old and both of them are fine. (I replaced the original 7 year old battery but the shop took it at 1/2 trade-in, was probably fine) No complaints here! TP
I haven't read all the posts, so forgive me if someone else has brought this up and I've never owned a glas mat battery but I work at a company that supplies floor maintenance equipment for the janatorial industry. A lot of floor scrubbers and sweepers are supplied with wet batteries and the same machines can be had, at extra cost, with AGM batteries. Mostly 6 or 12 volts. 4 to 6 batteries per machine As I understand it, the glas mat battery machines have a different type of on-board charger than the wet battery machines. I have read something about why this is, but I can't remember exactly what the difference is. It would be logical to assume if you have a AGM battery you can't use a regular battery charger on it or it will be damaged beyond repair.
Hi Jim, many thanks for your reply, it is very important to me and changes the whole situation from one of possible manufacturing defect to having been sold a ten year old battery as new! It is testament to the quality of your products that, had it not been for my particular circumstances, I would not have known. The battery was delivered to me in December last year 2010, so it could not have been manufactured in 2011 and must have been made (or initially charged) in 2001. Can I take what you say as absolutely correct? I ask because Optima UK have told me twice that it was manufactured in April 2010. How they deduced that from "1079" I have no idea. Perhaps, as they can last so long, they should be stamped with an unambiguous code? I'd better not tell the whole story here, but I'll just say that the whole episode has cost me nearly £700 and many hours of wasted time.
TP, I would strongly encourage you to submit your YellowTop story to us here. Last year, we picked our three favorite submissions and flew the battery owners out to SEMA for the unveiling of our Wall of Power display. RugBlaster, I don't blame you for not reading the whole thread! I can't speak to the charging requirements of industrial batteries, but regular battery chargers work just fine on Optima batteries. One thing to avoid with our batteries is “gel” or “gel/AGM” charger settings, as gel batteries are very different and using any gel setting may not fully-charge an Optima and could damage it over time. Optimus, we actually place date codes in several locations on our batteries. Could you tell me what the serial number is on your battery? It would appear on the white, 1”x3” label on the side of the battery. Posting a picture of the top of the battery would help as well, if possible. Jim McIlvaine eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc. www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
The first optima I had was given to me by a friend who thought it was a bad battery. Turned out to be an electrical problem. I used that battery for 4 years, was probably 7 years old at that time. Sold the car, new owner replaced battery as it would have been about 13 years old after he got done modifying the car. I wish I still had that battey, I would live to know how long it would last.I think the manufacture date would of been 1990. I have owned many optimas since then, none as good as that one, but better than most. worked for GM dealer and a Delco would fail in 2 years in the Arizona heat. They cost more but never leak acid or fumes to corrode the car.
OK......this battery deal bugged me since yesterday, so when I went to work today I called tech service at Nilfisk-Advance (manufacturers of maintenance equipment referenced earlier) they told me AGM batteries require a three stage charger that use algorythms to determine what mode the charger is in given the state the battery is in at the time of charging. Stages are broken down as BULK, ABSORBSION and FLOAT. They told me a standard, one stage charger shouldn't be used on AGM batteries as damage would occur. These chargers are not "smart" enough to do the job properly. Obviously, if you were told not only you needed a substantial amount of money to buy an AGM battery, but you also needed a $200.00 smart charger, you might reconcider the purchase. The charging method described on this thread as it relates to AGM batteries seems to be a rather feeble attempt at a job not well suited to the equipment being used.
Hi Jim, really appreciate your help with this. The small label on the side says "Non Spillable 0075616270" I've attached a picture of the top.
If my Optima equipped 36 SBC powered Ford sits unused for several weeks it will act odd. I hit the key, everything switches on then if I turn to the start mode nothing for a few seconds, then the starter kicks in and away it goes. It acts like a dirty connection but spins on it's own after a long moment. I cleaned all the cables and starter terminals, put the Optima on my hi-dollar AGM charger and slow charged it over night (twice). Still acted lazy. The battery dealer told me to drive it for a while. Used it for 2 days of local driving and now it acts normal. I guess they act oddly if asked to lie dormant for several weeks. Seems strange to me too.
I did a search and informal survey a few months ago of all the battery threads on the HAMB. Found out that the "old" one (5-7 years old) were mostly Made in USA and some still working fine. The new ones are Hecho in Mexico and really a problem. The search function can be your best friend....
I don't see how that could possibly be caused by the battery. It will deliver current depending on the load and charge state. Sounds more like a sluggish solenoid. Do you hear the solenoid clunk at the start of the delay?
Thanks for the welcome. I sincerely apologise for using your forum this way, but if you knew what I've been through and the full scale of the bad advice and misinformation, not to mention sheer incompetence I've suffered elsewhere, you'd probably be a little more lenient. I am not a sock puppet. If you represent other forum members and you'd rather we took it to email, then I will do so (if that's OK with Jim).
If you're not here for "Traditional Hot Rods and Customs" then you should definitely take it to email. Read This First! then decide...
OK, read and understood. I've sent Jim a PM with my email address, so I may not even need to use your PM facility soon. I sincerely apologise for having inconvenienced you all. Goodbye.
RugBlaster, as I mentioned before, I can't speak for the specific types of batteries you are referring to for industrial applications, but regular chargers will work just fine on our batteries. I successfully use a 20-year old Schumacher to charge our batteries all the time. The type of charger you mentioned is preferred, as those chargers tend to be smarter and more likely to have features that will prevent a battery from being overcharged, but they are by no means necessary for our batteries. Optimus Prime, I apologize for the reception you are receiving on this board and I did receive your PM. I will be happy to assist you via e-mail. zman, if you think I have nothing better to do than start conversations with myself, I'll make a deal with you. The moderators or admins should be able to see the IP address of everyone who posts in this thread. If John and I have even remotely similar IP addresses, they can ban both of us. If that is not the case, they ban you. 2many projects, what was the voltage of your Optima after charging it overnight? FlyFisher, the quality of our batteries has always been excellent, but the batteries we are producing today are the best we have ever made. Jim McIlvaine eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc. www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
well ive used optima batteries on all my cars and I have had all 3 types...the blue one lasted a very long time....almost impossible to kill....had it in a O/T camaro for more than 6 years without a probem, car sat for 2 years without a trickle charger and the battery still had some juice in it. the yellow top I had for 3 years on a O/T jeep wrangler which I used only 1 weeks out of 3 months sitting wile attending school abroad and it also never had a trickle charger on it and it always fired up... now here is were it gets interesting, after I sold the jeep for another O/T montero, I transfered the yellow top to the new car which I used for only 7 months before the battery quit on me...I then replaced the yellow top battery for the less expensive red top and that only lasted 1 year on my montero... i bought a cheap ass champion battery at costco a little over a year ago, and besides having to adjust the wierd idle with the champion battery (kind of seemed like it wanted to die out on me at idle with the new battery), I have not had any problems with it for the past 1 and a 1/2. those were just my experiences with it...I would still buy an optima for sure but maybe I would be a little hesitant to buy a red top.
I use odyssey batteries on my harley and chopper...and they are like something out of this world! ive had the same odyssey battery on my shovelhead since 2000 also without a trickle charger and stored in a shed more than a year at a time when im away from home...all it takes is a quick recharge and BAM! the bike fires right up!
After charging mine the second time it read out 12.7 volts. I'm going to pull the '36 out today and take it to coffee with the boys in an hour or so. See how it behaves then. No I didn't hear the solenoid click those few times it acted weird on me. It does have a rebuilt starter from G.M. that I installed a little over a year ago. Here's a clue though.................the starter had a lot of oil on it when I looked at it 2 nights ago. Leaky r.h valve cover gasket. I cleaned everything up with brake cleaner and wire brushed all connections again. Maybe your right. Solenoid????? It's possible.
As I have stated before about Optima batteries is I have been useing them for years and have only had one that was defective. It was replaced with no problems. I get about 10 years out of the ones in my old cars(both 6-12 volt) with a battery tender charger on them.My last every-day car when I sold it had a 5 year old Optima in it and it was working fine. It was a Cadillac STS with all the opitions and never had any problems.
Rugblaster, while a purpose built, smart charger is a good idea for any battery, the limits of any charger should be known before charging any battery. There are many newer smart chargers that have AGM/gel settings, which could also damage AGM batteries. I cannot agree with you that the quality of our batteries has declined, because that simply is not the case. In fact, the quality of our batteries has improved and we don't base that on comments made by folks on message boards, but our actual defect rates and returned batteries. Erlomd & WDobos, I'm glad to hear you are pleased with our batteries. 2Many projects, I hope your situation gets sorted out. Jim McIlvaine eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc. www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
The Jalopy Journal
