Optima Yellow Top Problems

[mmmm4444]

My battery (7yrs old) is not holding its charge anymore !!!!

I was away in Europe for 2 months so therefore I asked my lovely Girlfriend to use my truck once a week to keep all running well. Well you guessed it it didn’t happen so I came home to this problem.

Have taken it to the auto electrician and he charged it for 2 days and said it was charged fully but after a few days it’s flat again. I occasional run a winch and have accessories hence the Gel deep cycle.

Called the AA and they tested it all and said there wasn’t draw from a short in the electrics but the battery had dropped a cell......?

Don’t really want to spend $600+ on a new one so is there anything more I could try?

It looks like my optima is a D75/25 of D35 for my vehicle. Can anyone supply one of these and how much?

Any advice is appreciated

M

[rangimotors]

what accessories do you run? deep cycle batteries are great for low drain devices over many hours when your not running your truck but they are not very good at running very high drain things like winches. I would be looking at spending a couple of hundred on a standard 1000cca battery for starting and winching and if you go camping etc a lot and want to run a deep cycle for small low drain accessories you could add one of those as well?

[mmmm4444]

Ok thanks

I only run the winch once in a blue moon and have the minimal camping accessories, electric cooler rarely and have 220volt inverter for bits and pieces.

Ideally I want to keep things simple and just use one battery for everything.

Someone has suggested these battery’s to me

http://bestbatteries.co.nz/dc24.html


http://bestbatteries.co.nz/xv24.html

Any thoughts?

M

[rangimotors]

yea i reckon marine batteries are the way to go, good size for performance/value. Although i reckon you want to be closer to the 900-1000 CCA mark for winching depending what your running etc. I'm far from a battery expert and im sure others will give opinions but my main one is that optima's are MILES over priced and really are not that great.

[Lynx]

Called the AA and they tested it all and said there wasn’t draw from a short in the electrics but the battery had dropped a cell......?

Don’t really want to spend $600+ on a new one so is there anything more I could try?

If its dropped a cell then its farked, in my opinion optimas are over rated.

Go talk to a few battery shops and see what they can do for ya.

Cheers Daniel

[skid]

had a couple of mates completely flatten their optima batteries

they both came back to life after my advice to them

get your average shitty arse $30 charger from a budget arse shop and stick the optima away in the corner on charge for ages

by ages, I mean weeks

I tested optimas that read 8 volts and 23 CCA , after 4 days on budget charger it had come up to 13 volts easy enough but only 200 CCA, another 4 days and we had 450 CCA , About 2 weeks laters we had it over the manufacturers rating and reading 940 CCA

the reason I say to use the cheap arse chargers is that they are limited to about 13 volts or thereabouts so wont overcharge the battery, just keep putting more CCA into it

chur chur

[kiwitonita]

I got a Optima red top battery last week for $390. The Optima yellow top was priced at $450.
Try Riccarton Auto Electric Centre.
My 2003 Excide Orbital is still going well but on the heavy discharge test is showing it's age - very impressed though as it's been run flat many times.

[badnuz]

follow skids advise, you have a good battery already, it just needs a hug

[LOLYF]

follow skids advise, you have a good battery already, it just needs a hug

Agreed, My 11 year old optima lost charge recently (left sitting for ageeeees) I stuck it on my cheap and nasty charger for ages and now she's sweet.

[petefj40]

Personally I think optima batteries are over rated. I had two yellow tops in the 40. I have 3 in the boat. One in the Holden. Since replacing one in the buggy I went for the cheaper new, "Absorbed Glass Mat" (AGM) battery. So far, they rate. And I've heard people rate them higher than optima.
I also thought if one cell dies the battery is stuffed?

[mmmm4444]

Thanks for all your advice guys.

So it looks like I need to buy a cheapy charger (any recommendations what charger to look for?) and leave the battery on charge for a few weeks and see how she goes.........fingers crossed !

How can I tell if it’s up to strength; with a normal volt meter? My auto electrician said it was up to full strength after 2 days of charging at his workshop.

Or do I just put it back in the truck and give it a real test.

Also just in case it is a voltage draw or bad earth (although the AA said it wasn’t) how do I check for that?

Cheers

M

[pjb]

Something like this: http://www.jaycar.co.nz/productView.asp?ID=MB3518&keywords=charger+12v&form=KEYWORD should do the trick.

[rangimotors]

or if you have a big flash one you can still use it so long as it allows you to wind the amps all the way down, basically you will be trickle charging it for a long period.

[dave gone jeepy]

my jeep sits around for ever and a day dual batt 24v, it isn't under cover so cant leave a charger on it for days to keep it perking along ( not my daily driver sadly )...one mechanic advised optima blue tops ( i think ) the other said glass matt somethings, ....are there pros and cons for each ?
it sits around alot that is the issue

[mmmm4444]

Thanks for all your help guys

Feedback time;

Basically I tricle charged if for 2-3 months and that seem to work

Saved me some $$$$$ there, although its just failed its warrant on chasis surface rust.............