Optima Battery

[1993R]

anybody running one in the Cobra? If so any thoughts?Also which model will fit in stock location without any mods?

Thanks I'm considering buying one and swapping between the boat and R. since both are not full time vehicles and I'm tired of buying batteries every few years for both........

 

[tommygun]

optima quality is eh these days

check out Odyssey batteries

Odyssey Batteries

 

[CO9B3RA]

I haven't had all that much success with Optima in my 93 Cobra as I've had one die on me in less than 2 years: I'm now on the 2nd one within its first year. And my 86 SVO is on its 2nd in the past 5 years. For whatever reason that is not a good record.....and yet the Optima in my 91 4 cyl. 4 Runner is in its 7th year and still going! :shrug:

 

[RydeOn]

Ive had mine since 2004 and since then most of the time its been sitting in the garage. Still fires instantly when I hook it up and start. Probably wont want to get a different type of battery in the future, although Im not happy seeing the prices rose 50-60 bucks for them since.

 

[Black306]

.....and I'm tired of buying batteries every few years for both........

I'd suggest investing in maintenance chargers. I use them for my Mustangs with very good results. My '03 still has a factory battery and is still very fresh. Plates don't have any build-up at all.

 

[LEE93COBRA]

I use to be a big fan of Optima batteries. I ran a red top in my 93 for a few years and bought one for my wife's 01 two years ago.
With that being said their warranty sucks compared to any other battery. I had a yellow top in my f250 that lasted right at 3 years. Optima offers no pro rate warranty. Depending on model, it is either 12 months or 36 months free replacment and that is it. Which really sucks compared to any other battery.

I have been working a part time night job at Oreily's parts store since my day job hrs were cut last summer and we see a lot of Optima's come back that are less than 2 years old because they are bad. Apparently their quality has went down in the last few years.

 

[buddha93]

I'd suggest investing in maintenance chargers. I use them for my Mustangs with very good results. My '03 still has a factory battery and is still very fresh. Plates don't have any build-up at all.

Ditto.

I use a Battery Tender model for my car. It has a "quick" disconnect of you want to forego the alligator clip connection. I know they make models that will charge multiple vehicles which is what I'd go with if I had multiple cars sitting for extended periods of time.

 

[no2moro]

I used the Red top when I was in car audio competition, but for stock use I buy from the dealership.

 

[carrew]

Old optima I always was fine, bought a red top new last year and have gone thru 3 warranty claims. A friend picked up a carbon fiber battery at summit and I don't know the name. It is really small, but fires the 5.4 GT500 every time.

 

[03 TOPLESSSVT]

Dont do it. They dont like storage at all.

 

[mgerman93]

"check out Odyssey batteries"

+1. These are high quality batteries. I've been using a pc925mjt for five years and it's been flawless. Deep cycle, metal jacket, and only 25 lbs.

 

[93Cobra#2771]

Standard ford motorcraft plus Battery Tender = five years plus. Absolutely the way to go.

 

[buddha93]

I have to say, for whatever reason, I've had the best luck with Ford's battery. I currently own a 99' F-150 with the original battery in it. The build date was late 98' so I know the battery is every bit of 11 years old. We've had single digit temperatures here in St. Louis and it still fired the truck up after sitting all week. Prior to that, my 89' hatchback factory battery made it 7 years.

 

[OptimaJim]

LEE93COBRA, I’m sorry to hear your YellowTop gave you trouble after three years. Do you still have it? If so, it may be deeply-discharged and able to be recovered with a regular battery charger, using this parallel charging technique- [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIoaL3DWWEg"]YouTube- Tech Tips 3: Recovering a Deeply Discharged Battery[/ame]

CO9B3RA, I will PM you some trouble-shooting tips, which might help with your situation.

Many auto parts stores use conductance testers, which will not provide correct readings and will not accurately determine the condition of an AGM battery. Most of the “bad” batteries sent back to us are merely deeply-discharged and work perfectly fine, when recharged using the parallel charging technique. Some of these guys have picked up on this already- [ame=http://forums.corral.net/forums/showpost.php?p=9422593&postcount=6]Corral Forums - View Single Post - What is a Good Affordable Battery?[/ame]


We offer a three-year full replacement warranty on all new RedTop and YellowTop batteries purchased after February 1, 2009. RedTops purchased before that date have a three-year replacement warranty and a three-year pro-rated warranty, while YellowTops purchased before that date have a one-year replacement warranty and one-year pro-rated warranty. Some batteries will have problems, but they usually manifest themselves within the first three years.

As others have mentioned, maintenance chargers are a great investment and will help extend the life of a battery, regardless of brand. All of our batteries will work just fine as starting batteries, but deep-cycle (YellowTop) batteries are recommended for applications with significant aftermarket electronic accessories, like large stereos, DVD players or vehicles without alternators.

carrew, I’m sorry to hear about the trouble you’ve been having with your batteries and I’m very interested to hear more about them, if you’d be willing to share that with me.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
Optima Batteries | Facebook

 

[Kevins89notch]

I've got a dead optima in my garage, thus the 89 is now rocking an autozone duralast right now. For the 93, my motorcraft died, so I stopped by ford, and picked up another motorcraft. I like the stock look of it.

 

[LEE93COBRA]

LEE93COBRA, I’m sorry to hear your YellowTop gave you trouble after three years. Do you still have it? If so, it may be deeply-discharged and able to be recovered with a regular battery charger, using this parallel charging technique- Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
Optima Batteries | Facebook

Jim,
Wow. Nice to see there is a rep surfing the forums.
Yes my yellow top currently as a full charge. (from a voltage standpoint) The night time job I currently have does have a Battery tester/charger for AGM batteries. This tester was used to determine that my battery was bad. While I do not have a heavy does of electronics in my Powerstroke, it is hooked to a trailer that has a 5000 lb winch a few times a year. This is the reason I went with the yellow top.
I am glad to see that Optima has changed their warranty to include proration, unfortunately for me, my battery was bought in spring/early summer of 2006. Sucks to pay $200 for a battery and not get the same warranty as a $65 off brand battery. You live and learn though.

 

[RydeOn]

Funny, I just picked up another Optima a couple weeks ago for my 4x4. Cost was $140ish at costco, not too, too bad. Again, NEVER will I go back to a regular battery. What happened was the regular battery sprung a leak and ruined my headlight harness. Only the sealed typed Optimas is good enough for me. Now that I have an Optima I dont have to worry about that ever happening again. Granted, my 4x4 sees much harsher conditions than any car ever will, it demonstrates the physical durability of the battery. I have no idea what you all are doing to have such bad luck with them.

 

[tistan]

I have had two optimas just not keep charge in within the first year of ownership. Now, I have the receipt saved, and I am on about 8 months of ownership. If you buy an optima make sure you save your receipt because they have been hit or miss for me.

 

[PRO50GT]

Never had problems with Optimas going bad. But then again I always run a battery tender when the cars are stored for long periods of time. Invest in one, its worth the money!

 

[OptimaJim]

tistan, I’m sorry to hear about the problems you’ve been having. I’ve included some troubleshooting directions below, to help determine if there might be problematic battery, alternator or some other issue that giving you problems.

Fully charged, with the engine not running, your Optima (either Red or Yellow?) should measure over 12.6 volts. If you charge your battery (either Red or Yellow?) with a deep cycle battery charger, it will get to approximately 13.0-13.2 volts. Voltage measurements of the battery when the engine is running are the output of your alternator. This measurement should be approximately 13.7-14.7v. The alternator may not get your battery to the higher voltage of a deep cycle battery charger – but that isn’t necessarily a problem.

If you don’t have a multimeter you can test this by starting your vehicle and turning on the headlights. If they are dim, it indicates the lights are running off the battery and that little or no juice is being produced by the alternator. If the lights get brighter as you rev the engine, it means the alternator is producing some current, but may not be producing enough at idle to keep the battery properly charged. If the lights have normal brightness and don't change intensity as the engine is revved, your charging system is probably functioning normally.

If this checks out okay, you should check whether or not the battery is holding a charge, or if something on the vehicle is discharging the battery. A high parasitic draw ("key off" load) can quickly discharge a battery and decrease its service life. This may be caused by an aftermarket stereo, alarm system or even a bad fuse.

A vehicle can be tested for a high key-off load with an ammeter or DMM on the DC amps setting. With the ignition off, disconnect one of the battery cables. Connect one ammeter lead to the battery and the other to the cable. It may be necessary to wait several minutes after first starting your measurement for some items to “go to sleep”. The normal current drain on most vehicles is about 25 milliamps or less. If your key-off load exceeds 100 milliamps, you can isolate the problem by pulling one fuse at a time from the fuse panel until the ammeter reading drops.

The one other thing I wanted to mention is that we encounter a lot of people who have problems after they have jump-started their battery. Any battery that is jump-started should be fully recharged with a battery charger as soon as possible. An alternator may not be able to fully charge a deeply-discharged battery and relying on one to do that could lead to a cycle of dead battery/jump/dead battery/jump until either the alternator or battery fails.

If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
Optima Batteries | Facebook