Optima Battery Problems

[dbreid]

Another option is one battery is bad and draining the other.
Unhook them both, take a voltage reading on each. Let it sit over night and recheck in the morning. If they are not where they were last night you have a bad one.

I have not had good luck with optima, I don't use them anymore. They are not the company they used to be.

I second this. I had two Yellow Tops (both brand new) running in my Offroad truck. I had a dual battery setup (with switches, etc etc) and a nice big fat Alternator. All of a sudden, my alternator died. Weird, I thought. So I put a new one in. Outputting 14.4V, everything was good.... for about a day. Then it was dead again.... Huh? This was a 454 Chevy in a 1984 truck, so it wasn't a complicated wiring system (I use a one wire exciter)... So in goes another alternator.... One day... dead again.

Long story (and lots of diagnosis later) the issue was one of the Yellow Tops had a bad plate, which prevented it from ever taking a full charge. So the alternator would literally kill itself trying to charge it. It is called "Alternator Death".

So I returned both Yellow Tops and bought Sears AGMs. Never looked back.

[getlost4x4]

I had the same problem with my yellow top in my jeep. luckily it died before the warranty ran out. I returned it like a bad dream to Costco and got a full refund. they said they quit selling them because they were loosing so much money on them.

[aka rover]

Im suppriseed to here you guys are having troubles with the optimas. I have ran the blues and yellows on competition winch rigs since the late 90s and the only problem I have has was due to me overcharging one and killing it, that was my fault. I run a blue top and yellow togather both light gray bottoms and love them. These current optimas are just going on one year old, ill keep an eye on there condition and see if they last the two years I run them before selling my used ones and buying new. So far so good...!


Ed

[Ludedude]

Since Josh decided not to follow up here, I'll post what I know the resolution to be. He had some sort of hokey "pro-audio" battery cable connector that shat the bed. Nothing to do with the batteries at all.

[scrubber3]

I've used the same red top optima battery from 2004 to 2010 in 3 different vehicles ranging from a 2004 GTO to a 2002 Xterra. let it go with the Xterra and to this day, it is still in performing flawlessly. I have had a blue top in my boat since 2006 and I just put a yellow top in my Montero. I don't expect to have any problems with either.

[OptimaJim]

I'm glad to hear Josh tracked down the source of his issue and that so many of you have had success with your batteries. We are always on the lookout for good Optima stories for our touring Wall of Power display and we've even invited a few of our favorites out to Las Vegas for the SEMA Show. getlost4x4, while we would prefer that all of our 30,000+ retail partners stock our entire product line, inventory does vary based on location, past sales history and seasonal buying trends. Our batteries may not be found at every Costco for any of those reasons, but they are still carrying them.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

[Jim K in PA]

Jim - I have a question regarding the Optima batteries. They tend to "polarize" folks (yes, pun very much intended), at least in the forums I visit. I will be going with an AGM battery soon, and will by buying a flat plate AGM product from one of your competitors. I have second hand experience with a premature Yellow Top failure, but understand that statistically they may not be as failure prone as is often professed. However, my decision is based more on reserve capacity for a given BCI group size. My question really has to do with the spiral cell construction of the Optima. Does JC plan to update the Optima to a flat plate design, and thereby increase the capacity without increasing the physical size of the battery?

Not trying to hijack, but this thread seems to be resolved as far as the OP's problem.

[Hilldweller]

Jim K ---
Until OJ gives a real answer, I've got an anecdote....

I had a DieHard Platinum, the big boat variety, in my Conqueror. It had a great reserve capacity on paper but never lasted as long as my calcs said it should. It lost power in a linear, predictable way though. I tested it several times; it wasn't defective. That was just it's nature.

I decided to try a pair of Optimas for the new trailer, two D31M marine batteries. Together they have about 50% more reserve (again, on paper) than the single DHP.
But the way they power my fridge and lights is different. I'm sure I'll articulate this poorly but, they seem to bounce like a superball unlike the Enerysys product that bounced like a flat basketball.
I check the charge level periodically and might get a reading of 12.5 volts after a couple of days, fridge compressor running. Wait for the fridge to cycle off and I'll get a 12.9 volt reading ---- in almost a year of running them I haven't run them lower than 12.2 volts. They amaze me.
The DieHard wouldn't do that sort of bounce; it would just stay at the 12.5 and keep going down as I used it.

The Optimas are so well-suited to life in my teardrop that I haven't used my generator yet and my wife is bugging me to sell it.
Anybody need a very lightly used Honda 1000 genny?

[OptimaJim]

Hi Jim K, I appreciate your question regarding our batteries and believe me when I tell you, I hear all kinds of second-hand stories about all kinds of batteries. As far as changing the design of our batteries, I haven't heard about any such plans. If there were no performance advantage to a Spiral Cell design, Optima would probably make flat-plate batteries like everyone else. There are certainly cheaper ways to differentiate our products from a marketing standpoint, than radically changing the entire design.
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Optima uses a continuous cast strap to join adjacent cells and there are no welds to add resistance or corrosion points between the cells. A cast strap is unique to Optima, proprietary, more expensive, and more difficult to manufacture, but it is a process that gives superior performance. A larger and/or better-designed, manufactured or connected strap will allow better high current flow due to lower internal resistance, which can be reflected in the CCA rating. This also allows the Optima design to use taller cells and thus, in general, to have higher electrical performance characteristics because there is more active material present.
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From a one-dimensional viewpoint, it may look like a flat-plate battery utilizes more space within the parameters of a given group size. However, that assumes everyone assembles their batteries the same way, using the same materials. All of our cells are inserted into our cases under compression in a fully-automated and precise process, while many flat plate battery cells are simply inserted into the case by hand.
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Our grid alloy is one of the most corrosion-resistant alloys in production. The high purity of the alloy and it's simple, binary composition also minimizes gas generation. Typical wet or flat-plate AGM batteries use grid alloys that contain three or four elements, which results in lower overall purity and gassing characteristics that are not as good as Optima's binary lead alloy. As a result, Optima batteries will have less corrosion at elevated temperatures and less water loss, when compared to conventional wet or flat-plate AGM products.
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There is generally a trade-off between cranking amps and reserve capacity, where in batteries of identical size, more cranking amps will come at the expense of more reserve capacity and vice versa. While physically heavier batteries may offer more cranking amps and/or more reserve capacity, simply because there is more material present, that is not always the case or the lone deciding factor in making a purchase.
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The way tournament fisherman have prepared their boats has evolved to near-NASCAR like standards and they analyze every pound on their boat. Anglers like Edwin Evers prefer our batteries, because of the pound for pound performance they deliver on the water and off. It is not uncommon for those guys to run their batteries down well into the single-digits by sunset. Regardless of voltage level, they expect consistent performance throughout the day and the same performance by the following sunrise. The ability to consistently and repeatedly deliver and receive current in those demanding applications and others will often come down to the design elements that aren't listed in a spec sheet that tells you reserve capacity and cranking amps.
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We don't offer the wide range of batteries that other companies do and we'd rather let other folks try to offer something for everyone. The biggest battery we offer is our Group 31, but we understand that simply isn't enough for some folks. A guy who wants a single battery to deliver 1250 cold cranking amps and 495 minutes of reserve capacity at 25 amps will have several to choose from, but we won't be one of them and we're fine with that.
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JCI also manufactures flat-plate flooded and AGM batteries and they are very familiar with the technologies, but at the end of the day, we really like the benefits of our design and the combination of performance, price and warranty we offer.
.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

[Jim K in PA]

Jim - thank you far an excellent response. I am aware of the differences you highlighted, and wanted your input on the design. I was not trying to "bait" you (hope it didn't come across that way). I am aware of the other JCI FP AGM products, and the variance in "accuracy" of published performance data from the various manufacturers. To be honest, with the way I currently use my vehicle (and it's battery), I have had stellar performance from plain jane flooded cell starting batteries. I am still running the OEM battery in my 2005 Jeep with 118k miles. It has NOT been excessively discharged ever, which is key to keeping them happy. However, I will be changing the use of the battery, and am looking for a level of performance that I know a flooded cell starting battery will not be able to give me. I am tempted to go with a 31M as a combination starting/cycling battery, but space considerations are a factor. My plan is to use a FP AGM Group 49 battery that has the same WxH dimensions as my Group 34, but is 14" long, and has a commensurately higher RC. I will be incorporating a second backup starting-only battery for self jump starting. I know that this is the inverse of what most folks do, but my plans make this a logical path to follow. An Odyssey PC1350 would be about perfect, but at the price they sell for, I can purchase two of just about any other brand (with admittedly lower specs).

Bill - sell the genny and pick up an 80W solar panel and a small charge controller. They are very quiet . I camped at Indian Spring CG in Yellowstone last year for 10 days (no electric). Even running the furnace at night along with lights, water pump, and charging cameras, every day the controller would be in float mode by 11AM. This is with a single G24 flooded cell (el cheapo brand) "deep cycle" battery.