Leaking Optima red top battery X2

[SquareRoot]

I domt actually get what that means, but I apologize if I did something or upset you

so where in the system is the voltage regulator reading the voltage and determining to increase (or not), just curious

Lol. You're good. It's all good.

 

[Grit dog]

Okay, so now I'm rethinking the whole Optima battery adventure and leaning towards returning it and figuring out a plan B while I figure out my excessive charging voltage issue. I was rationalizing that my car has a charging issue and if I correct that issue everything will be normal. Got three solid opinions that make me think that might not be the case.

What battery do you like?

It does sound like your car was cooking it. But I swore off of optimas about a dozen years ago. And that was after having a lot of them because they got warranty every year for being a pos.
And the last red top I tossed in the old Jeep cause I needed a battery and it was out of the boat. 1 yr old battery.
Expected it to die by the next spring and it lasted a good 8-9 years and I neglected it and generally didn’t charge it over the winter. Left hooked up year round.
But had 2 bad yellow tops as well.
Maybe I was bad luck but I’d walk before buying an optima if it was the last battery on the shelf.

 

[Grit dog]

Well ****. I was late to the party….
Still don’t like Optimas.

 

[SirRobyn0]

I should have gotten in on this discussion earlier but still I wanna put in my 2 cents.

This is general information and obviously does not apply to your situation, but it's good reference point none the less. When programming a PCM it is done at 14.5 volt BC that the ideal PCM voltage, anything over 15 1/2 is dangerous to a PCM, and is high enough to boil a battery. 16.5 volts is going to boil and or kill even the best battery.

My love for Optimas is about zero.
Back in the mid 2000s I bought a red top for our boat. That one battery got me 3 or 4 free replacements because they were all junk and wouldn’t make it through a winter (disconnected and either on a maintainer or charged and no maintainer). The last one of the bunch got stuck in my 74 Jeep on short notice one day and I left it there to die. It lasted 7 or 8 years.
Bought one yellow top that was junk too. All JC batteries.
I know people who swear by them and I trust their opinions. Hard to argue with 10+ year old batteries that still work.
I have not had the same experience.

Me too. I had one years ago in the late 90's in my olds 88, I pretty much had it warrenteed every winter until I got sick of changing it out.

Many of you will disagree with me, but I've had good luck with Walmart batteries. Their "Everstart Maxx" line has not disappointed me yet. They only carry a 3 year warranty now, so there is a risk with that, but I've been getting more than that out of them (typically 5 to 7 years).

I run those batteries in everything other than my Camaro, which has gotten Interstate batteries in the past. The last two Interstate batteries I've bought have been less than satisfactory though and I would not recommend a new Interstate battery.

I agree. I think Interstate is the most recent battery to go to crap and I think we can at least in part blame Costco and other box stores that have picked up the interstate line. That seems to be when things changed. I've been having pretty good luck with ACDelco batteries recently, which is interesting BC about 20 years ago those were crap!

I had a Walmart battery that went 8 years. I've seen some super starts (Orielly's) go the distance as well. But the rule of thumb is 4 - 5 years is the average life.

Also to my knowledge there are 3 major battery manufactures, Interstate, Excide, and Johnson controls. They make most of the battery brands, but just like with parts remanufactures that does not mean that all the brands manufactured by say Excide are the same inside, they may have a different build spec for different brands.

My suggestion to everyone is don't over spend on a battery and try to pick something with a decent warranty. Part of the reason I've got ACDelco's in everything these days is we have a local wholesaler that has darn good prices on those batteries.

 

[Grit dog]

Wow now I’m repeating stories. Gonna forget to take my geritol soon….lol
The list of batteries that haven’t sucked since the Optimas….all of them.
Napa battery in Jeep gets started about once a month or not. Gotta be 6-7 years old now.
OE mopar and Delco batteries. Good life out of them over last 15 years or so. Currently the Cummins and Charger both have 6 year old OE batteries at 100k miles and 50k miles.
Exide, cheapos from Home Depot. Got 3 years now cranking our old diesel.
Odyssey. Longest lasting batteries I’ve owned. Worth the extra $ over Craptima if you want a real AGM.

Hell, even the GMC, bought 2 years ago with an unknown age “reconditioned” battery has worked longer than most of the Optimas I’ve had.

One thing is the weather here is optimal for battery life.

 

[WP29P4A]

I have been lucky, with the exception of the Optima (which turned out to be the regulator) the last 3 batteries have all lasted a full 8 to 10 years in my Sploder and the Astro van. I did buy a mid-grade battery, the "not-gonna-last" brand from Autozone, it only lasted a year.

Even the vintage style battery for the Charger lasted over 10 years.

 

[Memaloose]

I saw a factory Mopar battery in a 1985 Dodge pickup that lasted 13 years, I was amazed. It was in a fleet vehicle at Denali national park and I was one of the mechanics there so I could keep track of it, that's the oldest functioning battery I've ever experienced.
Anymore, I buy the cheapest, heavy duty battery I can find, if they last five years, great but that's when I replace my batteries whether they've failed or not. I hate being stranded in the middle of nowhere and I am mostly in rural and remote places.
Just because a battery cost $200-300 doesn't mean it's better than a cheap one, in my opinion.

 

[fast 99]

I started using Optimas because of the dry nature of the design. Having a few older collector vehicles tried to stay away from wet batteries with liquid sulfuric acid. Had good luck with Optimas until the last couple years. Tried to warranty 2 of them and received horrible customer service actually close to argumentative. As stated previously and will never buy one again.

Because of the current shortages the only place I could find a dry battery was Rock auto and FVP. So far battery has been fine, we will see long term.

A friend has always bought Odyssey, but the price is hard to take. I have them in watercraft with life spans around 8-10 years but those are only about $120.

 

[WP29P4A]

It's old habits that kept me from correcting the issue sooner. I really wanted to BELIEVE my new, quality parts were not defective. I have to retrain myself to stop trusting new parts just because they are new and top quality. That logic no longer seems to apply. All three of the voltage regulators I have are Mopar branded products. A 33.3% defective rate doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Or, should I consider myself lucky that 2 out of 3 worked instead of 1 out of 3? LOL

 

[WP29P4A]

Wow, sorry for the late responses, lots of work, seems like I have more work now I have retired, hehehe.
Anywho, 16 volts is stressing not only the battery but the any electrical device, including manual switches. Remember E-I-R, so the more voltage the more heat on any resistance in a circuit.

So, first you need to do a voltage drop test, voltmeter negative to negative, then with the vehicle running, and accessories off, check the voltage at the output of the alternator, then check it at the battery, if you are off more than .8 V, you have a wiring issue.

Next, with the vehicle off, set your DVOM to ohms, clean a spot on the alternator, and check from the alternator body to the negative terminal on the battery, your resistance should be almost 0. If you find high resistance in the ground, you need to clean the negative at the battery and the engine block. By the way, you should have a ground direct to the block, some have a ground to a bracket, not the best, better direct to the block.

Also if you have these, get rid of them

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And use these INSTEAD

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Also if you don't have one of these, get one like it, clamp style for amps, it will help in finding draws, and is fine for basically everything automotive

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https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NWGZ4XC/

Anyway hope is helps

Blue

All of your great suggestions got handled when I did the engine compartment restoration a few years back. It's all new. I have been a low voltage contractor for over 40 years, so I got the tools and plenty of practice using them. I do trouble shooting and custom electrical on some of my clients high end vehicles and motor homes so I have plenty of experience, but have never had an issue with too much voltage. Almost all of my experience has been chasing down issues with voltage being too low, shorts, bad or removed grounds, melted wires, etc.

 

[Doppleganger]

I have bought 6 Interstates at Costco...returned 5 of them. No more.

We bought a Forester from Florida. In it is a 3yr old Die Hard. Someone still making them? I used to put Die Hard Golds in everything and loved them.....back in the day.

 

[fast 99]

It's old habits that kept me from correcting the issue sooner. I really wanted to BELIEVE my new, quality parts were not defective. I have to retrain myself to stop trusting new parts just because they are new and top quality. That logic no longer seems to apply. All three of the voltage regulators I have are Mopar branded products. A 33.3% defective rate doesn't exactly inspire confidence. Or, should I consider myself lucky that 2 out of 3 worked instead of 1 out of 3? LOL

Aftermarket parts are horrible. Give you one example. This was on a cam sensor for a KIA. National name brand, offshore part inside. The sensor was so poorly made it wouldn't even fit in the hole in the head, too large. Won't get into sensors that the plug doesn't fit.

Some people like "fixing" things that aren't broken. Don't do that today.

IF IT AINT BROKE DONT FIX IT

 

[AuroraGirl]

on the battery topic, its sad but the battery names keep getting sold around like its a $#$#$ game for them. Northstar batteries was bought by who owns optima. Enersys or whatever.

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They also own those brands(I believe odyssey is the only big one for car batteries on that list, i may be wrong)

Actually just looked more into it. Odyssey has been owned by them for most of its life. and they specifically bought northstar to have a bigger leg in the heavy duty truck battery and AGM business. so maybe it wont be so bad if they keep their autonomy somewhat.

 

[justhorns]

16.4 volts is too much. Alternator or voltage regulator is suspect, and will cook any battery.

 

[fast 99]

on the battery topic, its sad but the battery names keep getting sold around like its a $#$#$ game for them. Northstar batteries was bought by who owns optima. Enersys or whatever.

You must be registered for see images attach

They also own those brands(I believe odyssey is the only big one for car batteries on that list, i may be wrong)

Actually just looked more into it. Odyssey has been owned by them for most of its life. and they specifically bought northstar to have a bigger leg in the heavy duty truck battery and AGM business. so maybe it wont be so bad if they keep their autonomy somewhat.

A friend uses Odyssey batteries exclusively in all his collector cars. Only issue I see is the cost. Better be willing to spend at least $300.

Do use Odyssey in all my watercraft. Those batteries are in the $125 range. Have been getting 7-10 years out of them. That won't happen with any wet battery.