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Optima batteries, 4/10/18...battery status update

Yes, Optima is sending me to SEMA, the old Jeepster battery is still kicking ass in the Wall Of Power contest...that battery was built in 1989, and still worked great when I took it out in May 2009. I have two Optima's myself and if I get half out of them, what I got from that Old Gates/Optima, I'll be happy.
The Yellow top I got in trade for the old Gates redtop was down to 4.3 volts the other day after sitting for about 9 days....I left my main disconnect in the on position (in the Maiden) and I suspect the fans ran it down, as somewhere in the electrical construction the fans decide upon themselves to start when they want if they have power to them. Kert can attest to this....it happened many times on the Moab trip.
I have no other explanation for the battery drawing down like that. I charged it up to 12.6, and for the last couple days its been right there. The Redtop I have in the 99 seems to hold steady between 12.6 and 12.8 everytime I check it. That is a pretty much daily driven vehicle.
 
Something is definitely working with its own set of rules in Dave's fan system. We tried a couple different relays but that didn't seem to make much difference. I don't remember all the specifics of how the fans are wired so I can't go into much more depth than that.
 
94%. So did you already win the sema show trip? So what are you up for winning now then? Just curious.
 
I'm in for the trip to Vegas, so the contest is just bragging rights now I guess.
Optima Jim made sure I was going to Vegas, there was some mixup with the Wall of Power eligibility, and he got it straightened out!
 
tRustyK5, so if I'm understanding you correctly, your wiring had been molested by the previous owner, who somehow damaged the winch that was on the truck, but when you acquired the truck, you unmolested all of the wiring and the vehicle remained bone-stock, until you installed a stereo? Is that the same vehicle in the picture below your name?

I noticed you referenced me specifically in the other thread you started and I apologize for not noticing it on my own. I'm active on several hundred boards, which doesn't really allow me to casually browse various forums. However, if you (or anyone else) wants to send me a PM about a specific thread, that is a much easier way of tracking me down.

While that thread is an interesting read, the best (and easiest) way to determine battery health for used batteries that have not been subjected to identical working conditions, is with a carbon pile load tester on a fully-charged battery, which any reputable battery professional should be able to do for you (some will even do it for free). It appears as if your RedTop had been previously deeply-discharged well into the single digits and I don't know how long it sat in that state. When any battery is discharged below 12.4 volts, suflation begins to form in the battery, which diminishes both capacity and lifespan.

If your RedTop has suflation issues, this can be reversed to some degree (depending on the extent of the sulfation), by cycling the battery down to about 11 volts about three times, followed by a 10-amp charge to a fully-charged state. You indicated in that thread that you had trouble with both batteries. I noticed you measured a parasitic draw of 10 amps, which should not be an concern, so at this point, why do you think you were having issues with both batteries?

Stomis you did have the YellowTops and RedTops confused, as RedTops are not designed or warrantied for deep-cycle applications, which would include your 12,000 lb. winch.

cyberfire, our BlueTops are identical internally to their YellowTop counterparts, except for the 34M BlueTop, which is the marine version of our Group 34 RedTop starting battery. All BlueTops also come with additional, threaded top posts for marine accessories.

fourwheelerjeff, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've been having with your YellowTops and I'd like to hear more about them and the issues you've been having. wazzabie, while the Gates-era batteries were excellent, the batteries we are manufacturing today are the best we have ever made. The original Optima batteries were designed in the 1970s, before CAD. Current RedTops were designed with extensive testing and modeling, using state of the art equipment. Look what a small block Chevy can do today, compared to 35 years ago. Our manufacturing process has significantly evolved during this time as well. The batteries we manufacture now are rarely touched by human hands during the assembly process, which has dramatically decreased variability and dramatically increased consistency and quality.

Jeff, don't worry about your previous post. We mixed things up on our end regarding Dave and if we didn't make things right, I would totally understand your feelings. Dave, you can charge your YellowTop up to about 13.0-13.2 volts. I'll see you next week!


Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
 
OptimaJim said:
tRustyK5, so if I'm understanding you correctly, your wiring had been molested by the previous owner, who somehow damaged the winch that was on the truck, but when you acquired the truck, you unmolested all of the wiring and the vehicle remained bone-stock, until you installed a stereo? Is that the same vehicle in the picture below your name?
Click to expand...

The wiring was not molested, it just had a winch hooked up. I removed the winch, and the cables that went to the winch. This left the truck with wiring as it was when it left the factory. It's one of the few K5's I've had that didn't have a rats nest of "extra wiring" under the dash or under the hood. The stereo was installed well after I bought the Red Top and had problems with it.

OptimaJim said:
If your RedTop has suflation issues, this can be reversed to some degree (depending on the extent of the sulfation), by cycling the battery down to about 11 volts about three times, followed by a 10-amp charge to a fully-charged state. You indicated in that thread that you had trouble with both batteries. I noticed you measured a parasitic draw of 10 amps, which should not be an concern, so at this point, why do you think you were having issues with both batteries?
Click to expand...

I'll try drawing the Optima down to 11 volts and recharging it three times.

I'm still unsure what the root cause was of the initial problems I was having. With the battery connected and the truck sitting the battery would noticeably draw down over a period of a week or so. The Interstate was old, so it wasn't a stretch to think I just needed a new battery. When it did the same to the Optima I did the key-off draw test and found 10 milli-amps. Not enough to worry about, but it would still kill the battery in a week or so. :dunno:
 
tRustyK5, please keep me posted on your findings and I apologize in advance if I am slow to respond over the next few weeks, as I will be on the road constantly for SEMA-related stuff. Is this truck the same one pictured below your name? Any idea how the previous owner damaged the Warn 8274 when it was on the truck?


Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
 
OptimaJim said:
tRustyK5, please keep me posted on your findings and I apologize in advance if I am slow to respond over the next few weeks, as I will be on the road constantly for SEMA-related stuff. Is this truck the same one pictured below your name? Any idea how the previous owner damaged the Warn 8274 when it was on the truck?


Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
Click to expand...

Jim, its ...Rene's (tRustyK5) 1990 Blazer that is in reference.
I don't believe the winch was working when he got the truck, and he just took it off the truck.
 
The previous owner ran into something. The bumper was a bit bent and one side plate/mount of the winch was cracked.

Yes it's the truck that is my avatar.
 
Sorry Rene' thought it was the K5 that had the winch on it.
 
It was, and the K5 pic is the avatar pic under my screen name.

Everyone please ignore the ugly crew cab that is in my signature...
 
OK...ugly crew cab pic is gone, that should be less confusing.
 
a hahaha...I'm all mixed up!

I'm used to seeing the crew...
 
Sorry for the delay in responding Rene. I'm almost done with my SEMA work and just have to drop a car off in David's neighborhood and I'll be finished. (David, great meeting you at SEMA!) Are there any updates on your battery? Your avatar looks like your truck has a winch on it now. Is that a winch or a connection for a plow or something else?


Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
 
Since replacing my optima I haven't had any issues. When I did have the optima tested it test at 12.75V and 33 CCA. 2 year old battery, they used a digital tester which I don't know how accurate those are and I probably wouldn't trust the readings entirely. But since the swap my truck hasn't gone dead from sitting either.
 
Ok well I got a GREAT optima story for you, I Bought a truck from an insurance auction ( see my build thread) It had been stolen and the interior burned 4 months ago. The headlights were left on by the thieves and it was left that way until I took delivery of the truck . These were "new" Optima Red Tops purchased with in the last 8 months from Sam's club.

While I was working on the truck I found the headlights to be on, figuring the batteries were toast I went and bought 2 Exide orbitals from Napa. But then I remembered this thread and how Optima Jim said that most of there warranty batteries can be brought back with the proper charging technique .

So I broke out my Fluke meter and measured the Voltage at 2.3 and 2.2 volts.......... I figured they were toast surely no battery could come back from being that discharged for that long in FREEZING temps .

But I figured hey why not what have I got to loose. so I hooked them up one at a time to my Schumacher charger in parralell with known good Exide orbital and began the charging process I checked the battery every 20-30 mins and to my surprise it began to take a charge!! I followed the procedures I had found online and with in 5 hours the battery was back at 100% according to my charger and was reading 12.62 volts . I repeated the process with its twin and it recovered fully in about 6 hours and came off the charger at 12.58 volts .

I was skeptical though to see if they would actually hold there charge so I left them unhooked over night and came back in the morning to see there voltages the first battery was at 12.57 and the second was 12.55 I reinstalled both batteries in the truck with cables connected while I continued to remove and clean the the interior. after 3 days I tested the batteries again and found no voltage drop from what I had recorded . with my work complete I decided to test fire the engine the optima batteries cycled the glow plugs and fired the 6.5 diesel up like they were brand new off the shelf.

Since then the truck has remained outside, Unplugged in zero and subzero weather and has never faulted to start immediately . I have not measured key off load but there is a aftremarket stereo and a new Alarm/Auto start installed on the truck . along with a cell phone charger that is always plugged in to the Cigar lighter.



Needless to say I'm pretty happy with my new Optimas I kept the Exide orbitals but they are on the shelf awaiting another project.
 
blazinzuk said:
Voted again Dave.

Jim I have brought my optima yellow top back from the dead.

Got it from a tire shop been on the shelf for like 5 years before I got it. Put it in no problems. Ran it for a couple years, started getting a drain on it not sure what it was but after a while it quit holding a charge. Even disconnecting the battery after you shut the rig off and reconnecting it again produced the same results.

Put it on the proper charger went to the website charged accordingly and well it lasted a while longer, finally got tired of charging it. Pulled it out. Found a red top for a screaming deal, bought it.

Now this yellow top sat around my garage for probably 2 years, I decided one day to put it on the charger and leave it and see what it would do.

Charger said the battery was at 2% left. Well it charged up to about 50% the next three nights but then the charger would read bad battery.

Me being a cheapskate kept trying, after 4 trys by dang if it didn't take a charge. A full charge. My buddy is using it in his Ford right now that gets driven maybe once every couple weeks, it has been in there since spring and has started every single time.

I also brought a red top back from the dead this same way
Click to expand...

Just interesting note here, the zombie yellow top is still good to go.

Buddys truck been sitting not moved anywhere for 3 months, and its been decently cold here. He had to move it today. The zombie worked better than his carb did. Cranked on it for a good minute.

Remember this a battery I tried charging 4 or 5 times until it would actually take a charge. Hence the zombie moniker
 
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