abalagtas

I'm going to have mine tested tomorrow because I had to jump it over the weekend. It could just be user-error. I was working on the car listening to the radio, but it was less than 20 minutes; I've run the radio longer than that and never drained the battery. Also, the car alarm was tripped a couple of mornings when trying to start the car. The car starts, but it's like the alarm sensed a disconnected/dead battery just as the car is started.I've had the Red top for about 5yrs, but don't remember the life expectancy of the battery.

Just curious how long your Optimas have lasted.

jimbo74

mine only lasted a couple years, but i had completely drained it quite a few times.... to the point i had t ojump it in the morning, but it would be fine all day long....

yellowspeedracer

i had a red top that lasted about 3 years and 3 yellow tops that only lasted a year each. needless to say, ill stick with the $40 sears batteries from now on...they have a better warranty anyway.

Ric

ive got a yellow top, thats over a year old, and no problems, the first one had a bad cell or something, lasted a few months, the guy told me that they have a 3 year replacement on them, just bring it back and get a new one. thats sweet. but im not running any big stereo, winch, or a lot of lights,,,,, YET

mytruck

...buy a Delco battery. I am sold on them. They are clean and you just can't kill 'em. I run them in both 'Yota trucks and my boat (takes 3 group 27's).
Used to be a Die-Hard fan, but no longer. Those are messy batteries.
Anyway, give the Delcos a try. They are priced about the same as Die-Hards, but MUCH better IMHO.

Jim

Threxx

FYI, there are only 3 vehicle battery manufacturers in the world.

Most batteries are made by one of these three manufacturers and then a certain brand of sticker and casing is slapped over them to give them brand identity. Even more interesting is that several brands such as Sears Die-Hard and many others have switched manufacturers quite recently or even used two different manufacturers at the same time and which brand of battery you end up with (underneath the sticker) is pretty much a crap shoot.

Now that's not to say that Sears may offer to pay their manufacturer of choice a premium to build their batteries to a higher spec. But none the less... they are all the same manufacturer underneath.

With all of that said, I still haven't found a battery I'm 100% fond of, and I've used them all except for Optima. I have had pretty good experiences with Delco, though. And my fiancee has a Panasonic battery that came with her 05 4Runner... I've never even seen a Panasonic battery on the shelves, but we'll see how this thing holds up.

seaflea

I have had mine about 5 years now, and not had any problems with it.
I really dont think it is going to last much longer as this morning my starter was a little slower to crank. I will buy another one just for the piece of mind of having a sealed battery that isn't going to leak all over the place when i go off road.

Ilovemountains

Die Hard batteries from Sears do leak, mine was installed back in 99 and still cranks my 3.0 fine but it does leak quite bad around the terminals. I have had great luck in the past with Champion batteries also. Im going to replace my die hard in a few weeks just so I dont get stuck out this winter!

yellowspeedracer

you can get a sealed battery that's not a deep cycle (optima)...and save some money. i agree that it's a good idea to have a sealed battery if you're wheeling.

midiwall

It may not be that the batterry won't hold a charge, it may be that the battery isn't _getting_ a charge.

You migth want to have your alternator tested to be sure it's cranking hard enough to _really_ charge the battery.

03_4x4Runner

I have had a exide orbital battery (sealed battery, looks like optima) in my very rough riding jeep on and off the road for 3 years with no problems. When

03_4x4Runner

Continued from last posting. When I had a standard lead acid battery in the Jeep acid would come out around the caps when climbing steep hills and corrode the battery tray etc. and make a mess.

02SE

I have had my Optima yellow top for 6 years, and about 4 months. No problems.

bsmi16490

I just replace my redtop and it was 5 months old, yes i have a winch and stereo but it was determined that the battery had an internal short, they gave me a new one and two days later it was dead, had the entire truck checked alt, electrical drain, everything and it was all fine, put a regular 39.99 cheapo autozone batt in it and have not had a problem since,

Steveh29

I've had my red top optima since April of 1998 and it's never given me problems. I've not been to kind with it either - Flex A Lite fan and two sets of KC lights. I'll buy another one when it dies..... if it ever dies!

Bumpin' Yota

Like is said, a red top is NOT for an overloaded alternator. (ie - winch, stereo, lights etc)

If you try to use one for that you are going to have the same exact results you did. This is why I NEVER recommend a red top EVER if you have as big system or large current demand...

Bumpin' Yota

Have you tried any of SVR's lineup? Im running a brace of svr 75s and I love em...

drkgypsy

The redtop has been in the '91 I have now for 8-9yrs with a 1000w amp,eq,head unit,cb radio w/ a texes star 1600 linear(a.k.a. sweet 16,or 16 candles). I just removed the cb and linear a ew months ago. No problems ever trying to start mine. But I've been lucky and fortunate when I put a high demamd on it. Now I don't, and I agree the redtop is not for high demand applications like:tons of ax. lighting, high end car audio, winches. Yellowtop is the ideal battery for demand applications.

Threxx

To find out who makes your battery, look here:
http://www.uuhome.de/william.darden/batbrand.htm#J


I'm not much into car audio these days... even back when I was, I had an extreme SQ setup, but never was much into power, especially without the motor running. I had a high output 200+ amp alternator and a nice cap, so my battery rarely ever got touched.

Check the above link to see who makes SVR and what else they make
( East Penn Mfg. Co., (US) +1-610-682-6361 or http://www.eastpenn-deka.com/ )

Koz

The Optima battery should last twice as long as a conventional battery. When they say maintenance free that doesn't mean there is no maintenance. That means you don't have to add water, but you still have to make sure all the connections are clean. You will shorten the life of the battery because it is not being recharged properly if the connections are dirty.

To check your battery and charging system, you can measure your battery voltage (remember to set the range up on manual meters to around 20 volts). The – terminal lead (black) on the meter goes to the negative battery terminal, and + lead (red) to positive. A fully charged battery will measure around 12.6 to13.2 volts with the car off. With the car running, you can measure the battery voltage at idle with lights, and accessories off. Most cars will charge from around 13.2 to 15 volts. If it is lower, check your connections, belt tension on the alternator, and the alternator. If the voltage is high, you may have a defective regulator (often inside the alternator - so you have to replace the alternator). Alternators can fail gradually, with a bad diode, for example. In this case the alternator may still work, however not be able to keep up with accessories such as lights and the heater / air conditioner. When this happens, the car battery may slowly run down. If it does, you may have a problem with the alternator. Many auto parts stores have an alternator tester that can do a more complete test.

To check the battery connections; To check the positive terminal, set your voltmeter to DC Volts. With the car off, place the positive (red) lead of the voltmeter on the positive + battery post, and the negative (black) lead on the cable terminal that clamps around the positive post. If your voltmeter is not an autoranging type, set it to about a 2 volt range. Turn on the headlights, if the connection is good, the voltage will be zero, or a few millivolts (1 mV = 0.001 Volt). If you read in the tens or hundreds of millivolts (100 mV= 0.1 volt), you may want to clean the connection. You can repeat this test for the negative terminal, except reverse the leads from the voltmeter. Side mount terminals will be a bit trickier, but if you can get access to the bolt and the terminal on the cable, the same process should work.

Koz