Optima yellow crap battery & Auto Zone

89Daytona said:
The Autozone website says "Free Replacement for up to 12 months,Pro Rata for up to 24 months" so the replacement warranty is 1 year, prorate is 2 years
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker?UseCase=C001&UserAction=performMoreDetail&Parameters=TRUE%7C%7EBatteries%7C%7ENONE%7C%7EYellow+Top+Automotive+12V+Dual+Purpose+Battery%7C%7ENONE%7C%7EFALSE%7C%7EFALSE%7C%7E467601%7C%7E2909%7C%7ED51-OY%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ENONE%7C%7ENONE%7C%7E2+YR%7C%7E26.0%7C%7EEA%7C%7EN%7C%7EJCI%7C%7Etrue

I guess its all about the fine print.
Click to expand...

Strange, the recipt I have for my red says 36/36.

I guess they don't like yellows.
 
 
Optimas don't seem to like normal everyday use. In the event they do get drained down they require a much longer time to charge up. An optima holds up to its CCA ratings at much lower voltage than a standard battery. So when people do feel they are cranking slow etc they are down pretty far. Then people think they can throw a charger on for about one hour and then complain when it doesn't help. Optimas take much longer to charge and IMO an alternator can't do the job. Even if you don't have battery trouble it would not hurt to charge them on occasion. JMO

If you have any battery giving you trouble put it on a charger for several hours. If it volts below 12.00 put it on for 12 hours or more. I work for Interstate batteries and it amazes me how many people think that you can charge a battery for an hour and have it make a shit bit of difference. 99% of my customers are profesional automotive shops and I bet maybe 1% of them know how to charge and check a battery correctly. %90 of the warranty batteries we see are still good and we have to sell them as used product to make some of the money back.
 
This thread made me laugh....thanks for it!

I do think the worst I've ever seen came from Radio Shack....those guys don't know where anything is, at least the one time I found the diode when the idiot was looking in the wrong tray and telling me it wouldn't be in the one I was looking through....lol.

Local Advance Auto and Auto Zone seem to know what they are doing, though. Van Senus is also another local store (2 locations) and they are pretty ontop of things, maybe because they generally have an older staff.....I don't know.
 
Last edited:
BlueCuda said:
Optimas don't seem to like normal everyday use. In the event they do get drained down they require a much longer time to charge up. An optima holds up to its CCA ratings at much lower voltage than a standard battery. So when people do feel they are cranking slow etc they are down pretty far. Then people think they can throw a charger on for about one hour and then complain when it doesn't help. Optimas take much longer to charge and IMO an alternator can't do the job. Even if you don't have battery trouble it would not hurt to charge them on occasion. JMO

If you have any battery giving you trouble put it on a charger for several hours. If it volts below 12.00 put it on for 12 hours or more. I work for Interstate batteries and it amazes me how many people think that you can charge a battery for an hour and have it make a shit bit of difference. 99% of my customers are profesional automotive shops and I bet maybe 1% of them know how to charge and check a battery correctly. %90 of the warranty batteries we see are still good and we have to sell them as used product to make some of the money back.
Click to expand...

So after praising optima a couple posts back, my yellow top is starting to slow crank badly. I only drive a couple miles at a go and the weather just got cold. Just checked it with a DMM, and it was 12.88v. FWIW, the red top that preceeded it lasted for 6 years (and I'm still not sure the red is "dead" .. just reading 13v, and my .75A charger won't bump it any higher). I suppose it's also possible it's a charging system issue, so I'm still not ready to bash on Optima.

I've put a $30 .75A "battery tender" on the yellowtop and I'll leave it overnight - the guy from "batteries plus" where I got my yellow top said it would work ... but from what I've read, it sounds like no matter how long you are willing to wait, a low amp charger will never properly charge an AGM. Is this true?

I've seen high-amp charger/starters that cost as much as a new battery that would no doubt do the trick, but is there anything sub-$60 that would work? Would any of Harbor Freight's offerings work for this purpose, or is it best to stay away from that? Any recommendations of what's best or what's cheapest for this purpose?

Also, just noted as an fyi, a site that said alternator must be pushing 13.8 to 15 volts to charge an Optima.
 
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lilredwagn said:
So after praising optima a couple posts back, my yellow top is starting to slow crank badly. I only drive a couple miles at a go and the weather just got cold. Just checked it with a DMM, and it was 12.88v. FWIW, the red top that preceeded it lasted for 6 years (and I'm still not sure the red is "dead" .. just reading 13v, and my .75A charger won't bump it any higher). I suppose it's also possible it's a charging system issue, so I'm still not ready to bash on Optima.

I've put a $30 .75A "battery tender" on the yellowtop and I'll leave it overnight - the guy from "batteries plus" where I got my yellow top said it would work ... but from what I've read, it sounds like no matter how long you are willing to wait, a low amp charger will never properly charge an AGM. Is this true?

I've seen high-amp charger/starters that cost as much as a new battery that would no doubt do the trick, but is there anything sub-$60 that would work? Would any of Harbor Freight's offerings work for this purpose, or is it best to stay away from that? Any recommendations of what's best or what's cheapest for this purpose?

Also, just noted as an fyi, a site that said alternator must be pushing 13.8 to 15 volts to charge an Optima.
Click to expand...

You'll be better off with a low-current charger over a long time than with a high-current charger for a short time, no matter what battery you're dealing with.

Charging a battery is simply reversing the chemical reaction that allows it to make electricity. You're better off doing that slowly, because everytime you "shock charge" a battery (high current for a short time,) you cause small changes in the chemical structure of the plates, which decreases the battery's capacity.

Honestly, if I have the time, I tend to prefer using my 1A charger or the 5A setting on my 5/50/200 over anything else. Why stress the battery?

If you're having trouble with capacity, I find that hooking up a headlamp or some other load until it's DEAD DRY, and then trickle charging (>5A) for 36 hours or so can often save the battery, if nothing else serious is wrong.


5-90
 
You should never completely discharge a multi-cell battery. Upon recharging you can get what is called cell reversal. In other words, one cell will change polarity and totally render the battery useless.
 
Straight from the Optima website:
"Recommended charging information:

Alternator:
13.3 to 15.0 volts, no amperage limit.
Battery charger:
13.8 to 15.0 volts, 10 amps maximum, 6-12 hours approximate.
Rapid Recharge:
Maximum voltage 15.6 volts (regulated).
Maximum current: No limit as long as temperature < 125°F (51.7°C).
Maximum recharge time: Charge until current drops below 1 amp.
Float charge:
13.2 to 13.8 volts, 1 amp maximum current, time indefinite (at lower voltage).

To charge the OPTIMA® 6V-1050, six volt battery, divide the charge voltage setting in half.

All limits must be strictly adhered to. "
http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive/starter/technical_specs.html
 
I have a yellow top that keeps going dead hooked a test light between the pos post and the pos cable and found two amp wires and the pos cable going to the distribution center lights the test light for 4-6 seconds then goes dark. If I touch the pos end of the test light to the neg post after touching pos it light again for just a second. I have arb compressor ,deralle trans cooler ,winch, spot lights,full time rad. fan, alarm sys all hooked up but nothing else lights the test light. While doing a search I saw several post on using a test light and pulling fuses. The test light goes out long before I could get to a fuse This is on A 1988 XJ Limited very heavy mods. I dont know if the amps have a internal capacitor but there is no external one. Any ideas would be a help at this point Thanks
 
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