teotwaki
Excelsior!
Besides proper charging it should also get a load test to see how well it can deliver current. My Optima appeared to charge up okay but a load test revealed a bad cell. The Autozone folks here in SoCal did their test for free
Optima Battery Problems
- Thread starter TheJosh
- Start date
Besides proper charging it should also get a load test to see how well it can deliver current. My Optima appeared to charge up okay but a load test revealed a bad cell. The Autozone folks here in SoCal did their test for free
Jim, I apologize for my slow response. I've been on the Hot Rod Power Tour for the past two weeks and I'm just getting caught up with my e-mails now. I've had many folks say far worse things about me and Optima on many other forums and I've never tried to get anyone banned. I've never had any conversations with anyone who runs this site about you, as I prefer to let the moderators and administrators do their own jobs in that regard.
It's clear you'd rather hear from dwh than me or our engineers. In the end, I don't care who gets you the help you need, as long as you get it from someone. You criticized me for not making an effort to reach out to a distributor near you, but when I asked for the contact information for the folks you dealt with, you wouldn't provide it. At some point, I have to move on and help folks who are willing to be at least somewhat cooperative.
As Bill pointed out, my ability to assist folks on a forum is limited, especially when I don't have access to their battery. I did bring three extra Optimas with me on Power Tour, which I subsequently swapped out with other Optimas on at least a half dozen different occasions, when the owners approached me, indicating they were having a problem with their battery. The three I have now are totally different than the three I started with and all of the batteries I swapped out during Power Tour ran successfully in their new vehicles, except for one '69 Chevelle, which deeply-discharged the original and one replacement (both of those batteries worked fine in other vehicles after being fully-recharged). Once I convinced him to disconnect his battery when parked, he didn't have any issues for the rest of the trip.
Tom, we don't have the shortest warranties on the market and our warranty terms, which can be just as important as the length of the warranty, are fairly-liberal by industry standards. We do post quite a bit of information about charging our batteries on our website. I apologize if our information is a bit simplistic for an electrical engineer, but we're trying to present a message that is easy for the masses to read and comprehend.
subytoy, if your battery is still under warranty and you are not satisfied with the service you are receiving from your original retailer, please PM me your contact information and your original retailer's.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.twitter.com/optimabatteries
It's clear you'd rather hear from dwh than me or our engineers. In the end, I don't care who gets you the help you need, as long as you get it from someone. You criticized me for not making an effort to reach out to a distributor near you, but when I asked for the contact information for the folks you dealt with, you wouldn't provide it. At some point, I have to move on and help folks who are willing to be at least somewhat cooperative.
As Bill pointed out, my ability to assist folks on a forum is limited, especially when I don't have access to their battery. I did bring three extra Optimas with me on Power Tour, which I subsequently swapped out with other Optimas on at least a half dozen different occasions, when the owners approached me, indicating they were having a problem with their battery. The three I have now are totally different than the three I started with and all of the batteries I swapped out during Power Tour ran successfully in their new vehicles, except for one '69 Chevelle, which deeply-discharged the original and one replacement (both of those batteries worked fine in other vehicles after being fully-recharged). Once I convinced him to disconnect his battery when parked, he didn't have any issues for the rest of the trip.
Tom, we don't have the shortest warranties on the market and our warranty terms, which can be just as important as the length of the warranty, are fairly-liberal by industry standards. We do post quite a bit of information about charging our batteries on our website. I apologize if our information is a bit simplistic for an electrical engineer, but we're trying to present a message that is easy for the masses to read and comprehend.
subytoy, if your battery is still under warranty and you are not satisfied with the service you are receiving from your original retailer, please PM me your contact information and your original retailer's.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.twitter.com/optimabatteries
teotwaki
Excelsior!
Good on ya' for swapping batteries where you can do so in person. Bad on ya' for all of the SPIN doctoring in your reply but all of the posts tell the truth in black and white.
FACT: The Optima Battery was BAD as verified by an Optima Battery Distributor
FACT: I tested it myself and felt it was BAD but no offer of help from OJ
FACT: I took it to Autozone for an independent multi-hour load test and it tested as BAD
FACT: I took it to the Authorized Optima Dealer who tested the Optima Battery as BAD
FACT: The Authorized Optima Dealer gave it to the Official Optima Distributor who tested the Optima Battery as BAD
FACT: Optima Jim provided no help at all in the diagnosis or valid Warranty Replacement of a five month old BAD Optima Battery
Look at all of his posts and he never once offered to do anything at all to just get a distributor to test the battery for me without all of the extra work.
Oh. did I mention that my
5 month old Optima Battery was BAD Please spin that OJ.
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
I'm thinking teotwaki ought to just get himself another battery and get on with his life. It is not much more than a $100 bucks for a red top. You got a bad one, no one seems able to help you to your satisfaction. Get over it. Move on. It's not worth your time or our bandwidth to carry on here. We all get that you had a bad experience. It sucks, but sometimes life is hard.
I, personally have had a great blue top going on 8 years. It has been in about seven different rigs, and not once has it been charged in any "special" way. I am about to put it in my F350 and connect my winch to it. We'll see how it likes that
I, personally have had a great blue top going on 8 years. It has been in about seven different rigs, and not once has it been charged in any "special" way. I am about to put it in my F350 and connect my winch to it. We'll see how it likes that
teotwaki
Excelsior!
Redthies,
I wouldn't overreact to the large red font. That is for folks who do Google searches because they are concerned about why their own Optima battery is not performing. You should search on "Bad Optima Battery" or "Optima Battery Bad Cell" or the all time favorite "Optima Batteries Suck" where one guy said "Optima Jim thanks for coming in here and typing up an Optima brochure".
OJ will come in and say I am "uncooperative" but he never acknowledges that any Optima battery has gone bad. Hence the large red font which I'm sure he will not acknowledge.
Optima used to be manufactured in the USA. Johnson Controls (JCI) bought them in September of 2000 and quickly started construction of a new battery plant in Mexico. By January of 2009 the American Colorado plant was closed and the workers pink-slipped. When someone says that Optima batteries are great and point to their X-year old battery I'd ask that they look and see if it was made in Mexico or the US. I wish it was possible to collect real statistics on the number of failures versus which plant the battery came from. Informal polls on other forums point to the "old long-lasting" batteries being US made.
As for getting another battery, if you are willing to front the $180 (not $100) I'll gladly give you this relatively new Optima. I have a nice new stainless battery bracket from Moody that is made to hold a Diehard Platinum battery. The truck's primary battery is a Diehard and about years old and I have had 3 to 4 Optimas in the same time frame.
No one blames Optima Jim for doing his job which includes being a member on over 1,000 forums. But think about why he has to be on that many forums. Heck, if it were not for so many bad Optimas he probably would not have a job..... :ylsmoke:
Folks who have met him in person will write endless accolades about what a genuinely nice guy he is and I believe them. He himself often mentions the restrictions placed on what he can say so his job has to be frustrating. Bust imagine all of the PR guys from Toyota who had to deal with the recent spate of quality problems. I'm sure they are really nice people in person and were as well paid to spew sunshine to the public.
I wouldn't overreact to the large red font. That is for folks who do Google searches because they are concerned about why their own Optima battery is not performing. You should search on "Bad Optima Battery" or "Optima Battery Bad Cell" or the all time favorite "Optima Batteries Suck" where one guy said "Optima Jim thanks for coming in here and typing up an Optima brochure".
OJ will come in and say I am "uncooperative" but he never acknowledges that any Optima battery has gone bad. Hence the large red font which I'm sure he will not acknowledge.
Optima used to be manufactured in the USA. Johnson Controls (JCI) bought them in September of 2000 and quickly started construction of a new battery plant in Mexico. By January of 2009 the American Colorado plant was closed and the workers pink-slipped. When someone says that Optima batteries are great and point to their X-year old battery I'd ask that they look and see if it was made in Mexico or the US. I wish it was possible to collect real statistics on the number of failures versus which plant the battery came from. Informal polls on other forums point to the "old long-lasting" batteries being US made.
As for getting another battery, if you are willing to front the $180 (not $100) I'll gladly give you this relatively new Optima. I have a nice new stainless battery bracket from Moody that is made to hold a Diehard Platinum battery. The truck's primary battery is a Diehard and about years old and I have had 3 to 4 Optimas in the same time frame.
No one blames Optima Jim for doing his job which includes being a member on over 1,000 forums. But think about why he has to be on that many forums. Heck, if it were not for so many bad Optimas he probably would not have a job..... :ylsmoke:
Folks who have met him in person will write endless accolades about what a genuinely nice guy he is and I believe them. He himself often mentions the restrictions placed on what he can say so his job has to be frustrating. Bust imagine all of the PR guys from Toyota who had to deal with the recent spate of quality problems. I'm sure they are really nice people in person and were as well paid to spew sunshine to the public.
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
I'm not an over-reactor, and the red font doesn't bother me. I just figured after 30 pages and 90+ posts from you alone, maybe we can move on. It seems like you have vast knowledge of electrical systems (which most of us don't), and all that info could be put to better use. If sparring with "OJ" gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, by all means, carry on.
.
Honu
lost on the mainland
I think if any one listened to the problems things have nobody would have anything ! and surely nobody would be driving Land Rovers !!!!! yet they seem to be popular and still continue even though they have issues that always seem to pop up ? and the jokes associated with them
and look at windows !!!! YIKES yet seems people still use MS products ?
and sites like the I hate blank are usually by single people with a small following in the scheme of how many own products !!!
just like the people that HATE Toyota or Jeep etc..
lucky when things are so bad they usually wont last and keep selling in another post sounds like Blitz cans we wont be worrying about anymore ! why ? dont know but I thought they were leaky cheap walmart junk some loved them ? but seems for whatever reason they could not keep going
I think I will fear Optima more when I hear they are going out of business
and look at windows !!!! YIKES yet seems people still use MS products ?
and sites like the I hate blank are usually by single people with a small following in the scheme of how many own products !!!
just like the people that HATE Toyota or Jeep etc..
lucky when things are so bad they usually wont last and keep selling in another post sounds like Blitz cans we wont be worrying about anymore ! why ? dont know but I thought they were leaky cheap walmart junk some loved them ? but seems for whatever reason they could not keep going
I think I will fear Optima more when I hear they are going out of business
teotwaki
Excelsior!
I'm not an over-reactor, and the red font doesn't bother me. I just figured after 30 pages and 90+ posts from you alone, maybe we can move on. It seems like you have vast knowledge of electrical systems (which most of us don't), and all that info could be put to better use. If sparring with "OJ" gives you a warm fuzzy feeling, by all means, carry on
I did not see you commenting on battery issues, only the opinion that you feel that I post too much. Just to let you know, I get my "warm fuzzies" from my real life adventures which are all in my blog. Right now I am in Washington state exploring the old gold mining areas in the Cascades.
Any mistaken belief that I care about OJ more than real life is something that you can safely discard. The technical info in this thread far outweighs OJ's name calling and the fact he'll never admit a bad battery has been produced in Mexico. Could you please point out where anybody can buy an Optima Battery for $100?
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
Jim, please relax. My comments were made in fun. As I stated, you obviously know your way in the electrical world. My comments were not intended to antagonize you.
I only said something because I keep looking for more Optima problems in this thread, but there don't seem to be many. There seems to be a couple of people who have not gotten good customer service from Optima. That is too bad. Optima is the party that will lose in the end.
As far as cost of the batteries, I don't know what you pay, but I get them for just over $120. I recall you saying you are having good luck with Diehard Platinums. Awesome. Glad you are out using them. That is the goal, right? Let's just agree to let it go now.
I only said something because I keep looking for more Optima problems in this thread, but there don't seem to be many. There seems to be a couple of people who have not gotten good customer service from Optima. That is too bad. Optima is the party that will lose in the end.
As far as cost of the batteries, I don't know what you pay, but I get them for just over $120. I recall you saying you are having good luck with Diehard Platinums. Awesome. Glad you are out using them. That is the goal, right? Let's just agree to let it go now.
Honu
lost on the mainland
the biggest thing I hope companies who do hear unhappy customers listen and respond and try to change product not just listen to try to do damage control !!!!
I know back in the 1980s we did the old cascade tunnel !! I heard now its got a path into it etc.. not the same adventure as it used to be but very cool to see or it was some 30 years ago
I love old mining stuff and exploring like that looks iike a fun trip up that way
I know back in the 1980s we did the old cascade tunnel !! I heard now its got a path into it etc.. not the same adventure as it used to be but very cool to see or it was some 30 years ago
I love old mining stuff and exploring like that
looks iike a fun trip up that way
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teotwaki
Excelsior!
That is an amazing price!! In Canada Walmart is asking about $208 CAN
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
I get parts at a significant discount. I just did the rad in my F350 and my mechanic friend said to expect $450 for the diesel rad with trans cooler. I paid $165. I think Costco sells the Optimas here for $160-170. That is still more than $100, but it shouldn't be enough to lose sleep over.
78Bronco
Explorer
$100 is a lot of money to some people. When I spend $100 on something it better frickin work as promised.
teotwaki
Excelsior!
For $60 to $70 anyone can buy a CostCo deep cycle battery and they work pretty well from what my friends say. I agree that if I am paying $190 for an Optima it should be about perfect and returning a bad one should be as easy as bringing things back to Costco is. :elkgrin: