Optima yellow crap battery & Auto Zone

[dphillips]

:flame:
Excuse me while I vent. Just had my optima yellow top battery crash on me last weekend. Damn thing was only 14 months old. So I take it back to the Auto Zone I purchased it from and they try to tell me it's still good. When I asked the guy what exactly his tester did, he couldn't even tell me. I wanted him to explain to me how that battery was good but would not crank the jeep when another battery would. Anyway, after that BS the manager stepped in and said they would pro-rate the waranty instead of replace the battery. More BS! Gave me back 65 dollars on a $165 battery. I thought these things had an awsome waranty! What a freakin joke. The folks at "Moron Zone" won't ever get my business again. To top it all off, the battery I purchased (after questioning the moron three times) was the wrong size for the jeep too. :flamemad:

Is this typical for an Optima? Have I just been fooled by their advertising.

 

[UNCC_99XJ]

Can't say anything for the Optima....but I agree with you on the morons at Autistic Zone.....which is why i'm a Napa guy.

 

[ECKSJAY]

Is this typical for an Optima? Have I just been fooled by their advertising.

Yup. Where I am they have a 2yr pro-rate warranty with 1yr of that being free replacement direct through Interstate. Red, OTOH, has a much longer warranty because it's a starting battery. I'm assuming your yellow is your primary?

 

[Ghost]

I wonder if I coudl get mine replaced? It kinda slid out of the battery hold down int the alt pully. Kinda grinded a hole into it. :eyes:

 

[dphillips]

Yeah, normally I try to use NAPA when I can. Some of my friends say I'm stupid because they tend to be a little more expensive, but it's worth the couple extra dollars for a part when I get to talk to someone who has a clue.

 

[Gerr]

that is normal for a optima yellow top when used for starting

it is a crappy warenty that looser zone has and thats why I wont go there

 

[RichP]

There are alot here that use the yellow top for a starter or primary battery. I'm not one of them. I have red tops in all three jeeps and if the wifes olds had not died at the mall parked right at the Sears auto center that would have one too...
Even optima does not recommend the YT as a starting battery, at least last time I looked when I was researching that about 3 years ago. Makes me wonder when I see these TV shows where they make a big deal out of a yellow top, Overhauling' is the exception, on a couple of their project vehicles when they put a BIG stereo system and TV in they put BOTH a red top and a remote mounted yellow top, that van they did is one that comes to mind, which is the way it's supposed to be done.

 

[FELIX]

I had pretty good luck with a Red Top. Got 6.5 years out of it, even with a dead short in the coil the last 3 months of it's life, which drained it dead every few days. Put a 1200 Oddysee in it now, but the Red top never let me down.

Rob $.02

 

[planefixer]

I've been using a yellow top for over 3 years now in my DD/trail rig and its handled everything I've thrown at it- starting, big stereo system,winching,aux lighting,etc.- with no problems whatsoever.

As far as Autozone and the others, they suck ass.If the counter personnel cant find it on their computer they are completely lost.I got a bad distributor from Autozone one time that left me sitting on the side of the highway- never again.I'll pay the extra money and purchase major parts/components only from Napa or the stealership.

 

[FELIX]

As far as Autozone and the others, they suck ass.If the counter personnel cant find it on their computer they are completely lost.I got a bad distributor from Autozone one time that left me sitting on the side of the highway- never again.I'll pay the extra money and purchase major parts/components only from Napa or the stealership.

Yep x2. Learned that from a water pump from Manny Moe & Jack it up Pep Boys. Replaced 2 of them in 3 months under warranty, took it back jumped up & down & got 2 gal of coolant to boot :soapbox: . Got one from Napa been in there the last 7 years. No trouble at all. No Pep boys part ever comes near my truck after that.

Rob

 

[KarlVP]

I've heard that optimas quality is declining. I have dual red tops and switch hem every 6 months from winch to start duty.

Optima states that if you are using the side posts for extreme duty, the battery will not work as advertised. So, use the side posts for starting, and the top posts for your winch, and other high drain accessories.

As for Autozone, I am sorry you got hosed like that. I used to work at an AZ and it is plain that you got hosed by some no talent assbag that didn't know his job from a hole in the ground.

All Optima batteries at AZ carry a FREE 3 year replacement. After 3 years, they have 3 more of pro rated warranty. The dude didn't know what he was talking about. Also, the crappy battery tester they have there will ALWAYS test an optima "GOOD" it will tell the fool running the machine, to "Charge and Retest" the battery every time. Even on a DEAD Optima. Most employees know this and they take it in stride, and give the customer a new battery.

You simply took one in the shorts because you didn't know the facts. Now that you are educated, you should go there and get your money back. If not, call their regional manager and explain the situation to him. He will understand. Don't get all pissy, remain calm and explain the situation rationally, when I worked at AZ, if a customer was irate, I just sold them something they didn't need and went home early. This way when they came back to bitch, I didn't have to deal with thier sorry ass.

 

[lilredwagn]

The yellow only has a 2 year warranty since its intended to be abused. The larger model has a 2 year replace, 1 year pro-rate, and the smaller models have a 1 year replace, 1 year prorate. If used as a starting battery it should last as long as a red, but they assume that if you are paying the extra for the yellow, you will be abusing it, hence the shorter warranty. In terms of quality, I believe Odyssey has a better reputation, but I still recently went with yellow, however, since I was happy with the red that preceeded it, and was unable to find any substantive evidence that their quality has gone downhill.

Also, while I was researching it, saw on a site (and iirc it was a company selling Optimas) that Optimas that appear "dead" may just needs a brief high amp (~100A) charge to bring it back to life. This is fine by Optima's specifications as long as you don't exceed the temperature limit of the battery.

 

[5-90]

:flame:
Excuse me while I vent. Just had my optima yellow top battery crash on me last weekend. Damn thing was only 14 months old. So I take it back to the Auto Zone I purchased it from and they try to tell me it's still good. When I asked the guy what exactly his tester did, he couldn't even tell me. I wanted him to explain to me how that battery was good but would not crank the jeep when another battery would. Anyway, after that BS the manager stepped in and said they would pro-rate the waranty instead of replace the battery. More BS! Gave me back 65 dollars on a $165 battery. I thought these things had an awsome waranty! What a freakin joke. The folks at "Moron Zone" won't ever get my business again. To top it all off, the battery I purchased (after questioning the moron three times) was the wrong size for the jeep too. :flamemad:

Is this typical for an Optima? Have I just been fooled by their advertising.

I take it they use the Bear ARBST tester - that red dingus on a cart?

That tester doesn't know how to handle gel cells and dry cells - I've said it time and again. I've also told you a simple test for the starting batteries (haven't played with the deep cycled enough to tell you one for those - but the ARBST can't handle deep cycles to begin with!) here time and again, so you might want to look. Hint: you'll need a freezer.

Of course they can't tell you what the tester did - all it does is report "pass/fail" condition anyhow. Nevermind the lack of technical ability on the part of the operator - it's a fully automated test that has three results - pass, recharge and retest, or fail. Most Optima Red Tops and Odyssey batteries come up "charge and retest" whether they're good or not.

5-90

 

[dphillips]

Thank you evryone for all the replies. I'm just done with "Moron Zone", and I certainly wont pay for an optima again. Here's the kicker. My receipt said I had a two year replacement waranty. The battery was only 14months old and they still wanted to pro rate the waranty. ("the computer wouldn't let him" exchange the battery) Like mentioned before in this thread. If the computer doesn't do it for them, they are lost. (I wish I had a job that freed me from all educated decisions when my computer screwed up.) The reason I asked him what his testing device did was to find out if it put any signifigant load on the battery. It was some small digital handheld device that he used. The wires conecting it to the battery were so small that they would have been smoked if he actually was able to draw any amperage off the battery. I put a red top in the wifes xterra a while back. Maybe i'll have better luck with it.
:dunno:

 

[5-90]

Optima states that if you are using the side posts for extreme duty, the battery will not work as advertised. So, use the side posts for starting, and the top posts for your winch, and other high drain accessories.

The side posts were a GM "innovation" that they came up with to help reduce hoodlines in their cars - because it took about 2" of clearance that was needed on top of the battery, and moved it to the side.

However, there's not as much contact area on the side posts as on top posts, which limits the amount of current you can source. I've seen side posts that were literall melted right out of the case by high-current use - I've assigned an arbitrary 100A limit for any draw on the side posts, based upon the contact area available.

You'll also note that GM isn't using the side posts so much anymore...

You'll further note that the side post idea did not catch on...

Side posts are OK for auxiliary distribution - light amplifiers, some lighting, and other accessories (middlin' inverters come to mind as well, and welders that draw under ~80A.) Not much more than that - the starter is an intermittent draw of 130-250A (depending upon application) with ~2% duty cycle, but it's a BIG damn draw, and it WILL heat things up.

As far as "automated testers," I don't care for them. I've got a 250A carbon pile that I picked up years ago, and I use that with a multimeter to test my batteries. Problem solved.

5-90

 

[planefixer]

The only thing I'm using the side post(s) for is to power my amps for the stereo, everything else is using the top posts.

 

[5-90]

The only thing I'm using the side post(s) for is to power my amps for the stereo, everything else is using the top posts.

Sounds about right.

 

[onetallmj]

Just as a side note since we are bashing auto parts stores:


When buying an alternator or starter from any store, tell them to test it on their machine before you leave the store(most stores have test stands for this)

Story- several years ago my wifes Chevy Corsica would die along side the road. Had it towed back home and found out it was the alternator not charging the battery. Went to Pep Boys, got a NEW not remaned alternator and spent at least two hours messing to get it in( front wheel drive sideways engine and serpentine belt ARRGH)

Started it up and within an hour - nada. Spent about a day working on it and finally tested the NEW alternator and found it was bad. got it out again and took it back and yelled at the parts dude who sold it to me and went to Napa where I should have gone in the first place.

NEVER AGAIN BUY FROM PEP BOYS

rant off

 

[5-90]

Just as a side note since we are bashing auto parts stores:


When buying an alternator or starter from any store, tell them to test it on their machine before you leave the store(most stores have test stands for this)

Story- several years ago my wifes Chevy Corsica would die along side the road. Had it towed back home and found out it was the alternator not charging the battery. Went to Pep Boys, got a NEW not remaned alternator and spent at least two hours messing to get it in( front wheel drive sideways engine and serpentine belt ARRGH)

Started it up and within an hour - nada. Spent about a day working on it and finally tested the NEW alternator and found it was bad. got it out again and took it back and yelled at the parts dude who sold it to me and went to Napa where I should have gone in the first place.

NEVER AGAIN BUY FROM PEP BOYS

rant off

Piffle. The test benches they have aren't LOAD benches, they're VOLTAGE benches. They don't test output capacity of the alternator, just that it's putting out the specified voltage - whether it's a 100A, or 1mA, it will "pass" on their bench...

Yet another reason to go to a small rebuilder - they usually have load benches. When I get an alternator from Rod, I can watch him test it (he lets me) and KNOW what the peak and idle output of the alternator I'm getting will be - not in volts, but in amperes - the important number!

I've taken alternators that "pass" at a chain store to Rod, and they fail his bench (low current output at all RPMs.) I've taken alternators that fail on Rod's bench (low current) and watched them "pass" at a chain store. Maybe 1mA is an exaggeration, but it's plenty to swing a voltmeter - and I did take one in that was generating a peak of 500mA and watched it pass. I can make more than that with a stack of AA batteries!

5-90

 

[88flexj]

Had the red top for about three years now, no problems. I have passed out (err fell asleep) many nights by the camp fire with the stereo, and cb on all night. It has always started right up. If and when this one goes south, I am replacing it with another red top.