Optima Red Top

[Spawn 93]

I came across a GREAT deal on a free Optima Red Top. Does anybody know the warranty policy on these? Can I take it and trade it out without an original receipt??

 

[Mr.Shrek]

Call a Batteries Plus and ask them. I know they carry optima. Just say you lost your reciept and you were needing to warranty the battery.

 

[shelbyluvv]

Take that battery to the recycling center and get $4 for it.

I had 2 Red Tops die on me for no reason what so ever. I will never use another one.

I know this will start the whole debate over again. Some will say they have had theirs for years and zero problems. Others will say they are junk. Look up sudden Optima death on the web.

They suck!

 

[FireFly]

optima batts suck major. ive had one in the car not even a WEEK!!!! and it died, took it back to the shop i bought it from, they said ya them batts are being cheapened out. over half the gel was missing out of mine!!!

 

[xjtrailrider]

The one in my trail rig is 11 years old and still cranking strong. The one in the daily driver is 5 years old and I have one that is 2 years old. All are strong. I don't know how people kill them but I do know that you can not let them die all the way and then try to fast charge them, no more than 2 amps max. All of my red top equipped Jeeps have on-board 2 amp chargers and they get plugged in if they are going to sit for more than a week.

I get my red-tops free at work after they take them off of the test fixtures they are used on, we have some at work that are nearing 15 years old and still going.

 

[ChuckstrPT]

I've had both good and bad experiences, 3 good, and 1 that died just after the warranty period, 2 years?? I've had one severe duty, drained many times, run down many times cranking in gear, and lasted over 7 years. The last one I bought was a Blue top...outlasted the jeep...that got squished by a tree! So far, no issues with Blue top.

 

[MELKORsXJ]

...dude at the battery store i got mine from said if my optima "dies"... he said to take it out, and shake it up, kinda like a paint can. he said it'd help bring it back to life... :dunno: ...haven't done it yet though.

 

[ls1_doc]

Optimas are still great batteries ... if ya get a good one.

 

[shelbyluvv]

I know this will start the whole debate over again. Some will say they have had theirs for years and zero problems. Others will say they are junk.

Hate to say I told ya so...

 

[kf_chris]

I've had 4 over 10 years with no issues to date. The jeep sat in the airport parking lot for over a month this winter and started right up with no issues. I have confidence in my red top

And we used to use those in the support equipment in the navy with no problems either.

 

[garr]

optima batts suck major. ive had one in the car not even a WEEK!!!! and it died, took it back to the shop i bought it from, they said ya them batts are being cheapened out. over half the gel was missing out of mine!!!

Just curious, How did they determine half the gel was missing?
If there is a way to check this it might be a good pre-purchase check.

 

[codyj86]

i've got one, had it for 6 years. no problems. even after i discharged it several times. like it was said before, no more that a 2A charge though. I heard from a few sources that a few years ago they changed manufaturers and that when they started going down hill. been crap ever since. however, i cannot confirm that. it's just what i heard. I guess personally, i'd just recycle it, and look into getting a different battery. (damn, i just forgot the name of it. lol. it uses alot more lead peices for higher ca's and it lasts longer too.... odyessy?)

 

[codyj86]

oh, we had a dead blue top at work, i tried shaking it. I did nothing. But that one was totally dead. .5V dead.

 

[kf_chris]

oh, we had a dead blue top at work, i tried shaking it. I did nothing. But that one was totally dead. .5V dead.

That's doorstop dead

 

[Ben824]

There is a reason why the Red tops eventually die and it is because they are not Deep Cycle like the Yellow and Blue tops. Deep Cycle means no matter how many time you completely drain the battery, the battery will be completely fine once recharged. The Red top does not have this deep cycle feature but it has all the other great features of an optima batteries. So since the Red top is not deep cycle it is like all other batteris in that each time you completely drain it, it looses 35% of its holding power. So a Red top can be killed unlike the Yellow and Blue tops. I had a Red top and killed it and then I bought a Yellow top and havent had a problem since.

 

[fubar XJ]

I've had two red-tops go dead on me. The first time was after about 10 months of use, and that was with no winching and very little load, i.e. not running the stereo with the vehicle off, leaving the headlights on, etc. I just replaced that one in December of last year and it "died" on me again a couple of weeks ago. Extremely slow crank at start, won't hold a charge for more than about 3-4 hours, etc. I trickle-charged it overnight, cranked like a mofo the next morning. Cranked a little slower that afternoon, was back to slow crank by the following morning.


I'm dealing with 4 Wheel parts Whoresalers as we speak trying to get it warrantied. Optima's policy is to trickle-charge it overnight at the place of purchase to determine if it's bad. Lonnie at the Lynnwood 4WP tells me on the phone today that it charged up fine. I had the Jeep over at Lynnwood Auto Electric the day before, they ran a static current draw test, said the Jeep was not drawing as it sat with the engine off. Ran a voltage and amperage test with it running, the alternator was charging fine. Ran a load test, the regulator was adjusting to the load change fine. The owner Larry tells me that the only other alternative is a bad battery, one that won't hold a charge.

Lonnie at 4WP is going to get back to me after the optima rep returns his voicemail. I'm afraid I'm in for a fight here. I'll get the Optima reps number and talk to him direct if need be. maybe they won't warranty their shitty battery, but he'll know exactly how displeased I am, and how I will trash-talk their crappy batteries every chance I get if it turns out I only got 6 months of service out of my fancy-pants $130 Optima.

 

[shelbyluvv]

Amen brother!

 

[rredalty]

I hate mine and want to kill it every time the little mexican at advance tells me it just needs a recharge.

 

[nickjc13]

i know what you mean right there. i have had 4 go bad in a year and the guy just says it needs a recharge.

 

[PacificEd]

Wow...my Co-op equivalents have been going strong for over 4 years. I guess flat plate AGM rules over the "cool" 6-pack design.