Optima problems??

[Mike S]

I had a pair of Optima Grp 31 Yellow Tops in my FJ60. No problems.

But the same battery in my 80 needed to be replaced under warranty within about 6 months of purchase because it would not hold a charge, and now I find that the replacement will not hold a charge for very long.

Question - is this common? Better battery suggestions?

Thanks.

Mike S

 

[LAW]

I had a pair of Optima Grp 31 Yellow Tops in my FJ60. No problems.

But the same battery in my 80 needed to be replaced under warranty within about 6 months of purchase because it would not hold a charge, and now I find that the replacement will not hold a charge for very long.

Question - is this common? Better battery suggestions?

Thanks.

Mike S

thats the typical optima... i have had THREE do the very same thing after being drained once..

the only reason i still have optimas is because the original ones were replaced under warranty...

 

[teotwaki]

I have had ZERO problems with my Yellowtop and it is easily more than a year old. I am careful to avoid running it below 12 volts and every so often I run it through a 2 hour conditioning with one of these chargers from Vector and sold by Target, Pep Boys, etc.

I bought the Vector because it handles three different battery types, can condition batteries, will cycle automatically through the 3 charge phases while adjusting current and voltage and has built-in diagnostics

• Fully automatic, high frequency
• Alternator voltage check with Good/Bad indicator
• Digital display shows charge rate, operating mode, fault codes & full when charged
• 3.5-minute charge to start
• 3-stage automatic rapid charging
• Spark resistant reverse polarity & short circuit protection for user
• Built-in battery reconditioning
• Internal short circuit protection
• Reverse polarity indicator
• Digital Smart Control microprocessor
• Compensates for low AC from extension cord use
• High-frequency power conversion technology

 

[upcruiser]

I've been running a yellowtop in my FJ80 now for 5 months with no problems. I'm hoping I don't experience the problems that you've encountered. I'm running a 140 amp mean green alternator but other then that the charging system is stock.

 

[cyclic]

I've got a red top in my 2002 GMC, its been in there since Nov 2002. No problems. The last one I had lasted through 3 different vehicles over about 5 years and one of them was totaled with still no battery issues. It was still running strong when I traded it in.

 

[Nullifier]

Optima=crap I have blown through so many optima baterries that I will never buy another. I had 3 go bad in the past year after draining down one time. 1 red top 2 yellow. I am going to try the Deka batteries next.

 

[Martyn]

Mike

We are using the DEKA group 31 battery and have had great results with it. At 105 amps it's a good strong battery.

 

[DaveInDenver]

Question - is this common?

If you listen to the Internet wisdom, it is. Mine's about 6 years old, I dunno. Regular red top, no winch, pretty tame load. Just parked in cold places for a day or two at time in the winter. It was even a factory second. Are you sure your charging system is good? One battery, sure it can be defective. Two with the exact same symptoms? I would be checking the charging system just to be sure.

 

[MaddBaggins]

My red top has been in my 80 for 3 years next month. NEVER a problem. Before that I had a red top in my Pathfinder for 2 years before I sold the rig. Never a problem.
Jonathan Hanson wrote an article in one of the Overland Journals about his good luck with Optima.
I've never tried any other kind of sealed battery.

 

[Wanderlusty]

Like every other product, I am sure you will find good and bad stories. I have had my yellow top for almost 2 years, and it has been used in no less than 4 vehicles. Two of those were "problem" vehicles, one a car with a bad alternator and we used the Optima to get it to the garage. The other, a car that had not ran in several months and took some cranking to get going.

My Optima has never given me any problems, even after I accidentally set a wrench on it, connecting (+) to (-) and sending sparks flying everywhere. Melted some of the post....

But even after that little mis-step, it has been fine for me.

 

[DenCo40]

I've gone thru 3 optimas myself. No luck. At least I got my money back out of them when I returned them becasue they were still under warranty. I use a Deka intimidator now. What a difference! It costs a lot less too. I've had it in two different trucks now and it hasn't missed a beat.

 

[ntsqd]

If you search this topic on any off road forum you'll find that most of the complaints start to crop up a couple years ago. Reportedly Optima was bought by some company who decided to make more profit. We all know where that leads.
Supposedly those issues have been 'fixed', but these posts persist so I'm not so sure. I've got a set of the NAPA copies that I'm not impressed with, but both of my Optima's have been great. The Red Top may now be a dead player as it's sat too long at a low state. I guess I'll find out shortly......

 

[BigAl]

If you had 2 go bad in 6 months, i'd also look close at the truck, is it charging properly? any accessories dragging it down? Even the cheapest batteries last 6 months.

 

[robert j. yates]

I had problems with my Yellowtop so I went to Odyssey batteries and haven't looked back. I'n currently running dual PC1200's and don't expect to buy another battery for many years.

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/

 

[Tucson T4R]

I had problems with my Yellowtop so I went to Odyssey batteries and haven't looked back. I'n currently running dual PC1200's and don't expect to buy another battery for many years.

http://www.odysseybatteries.com/

I have been considering upgrading to dual Odyssey 1200s. Sounds like you like the set up and capacity. If you were do it again, would you still select two 1200 model batteries?