Optima Red Top

[NJSHO]

Man do these batteries stink. I know this has been covered before, but I would like to reiterate it. I had a red top for 2.5 years and it died (so much for twice the life of a normal battery) of internal short. Got it replaced back in April after haggling with the guy at pep boys. Yesterday I go out to my car and I can’t open the car with the remote. Once I do get in there is no clock, lights, ect... so I jump the car and drive it awhile. Go back out a couple hours later and very, very dim lights. I go to take a current draw reading and the battery is hot, and there is only .06amps being drawn. I disconnect it and bring it inside and the battery continues to get hotter. I put a thermocouple on it and it went up to 115 degrees. I put a fan on it till the morning. Go get a battery charger with diagnostic capability guess what, internal short (3 months old.) Bring it back to pep boys and once again I have to argue with the guys. They said:
1. The battery is not for the SHO.
2. It’s a deep cycle and your not using it as a deep cycle.
Had to explain to them that its a group 34 size battery and should work no problem, and that the yellow top is a deep cycle not the red. Why is it that parts people seem to always know the exact opposite of what is actually true.

If this battery lasts a year or so I’ll accept that I got my moneys worth and move on to something else. It just boggles my mind how a company with that much advertising (Optima) can put out a battery that 25% of the people know is crap and still stay in business. How is it not more widely know?
In conclusion, no more Optima’s for me. Buyers beware.
Rant Off.

 

[dantheman68]

i sell these batterys and i know theyre crap... they have more returns within the first 6 months than the regular batteries


i think thats all i can say...

 

[JustinSane]

The yellow top is a deep cycle the red top is intended for every day and heavy duty use, i have long been a advocate of these amazing batterys and cant understand your bad luck, back when i competed in car audio competitions andlater when i started building drag race cars i was always super impressed with these battersy life and power, every thing i own gets a red top and i still have one i bought 6 or 7 years ago at least. a small story of these batterys power is about 7 years ago i was driving in my street legal nova to the weekend drags when my alt went out, i drove on the battery , raced on just the battery and drove home on just the battery, when i got home the battery showed only 11.2 volts on the meter, 12.0 is considered low 12.6 is full, well i shut the car off and if any of you know any thing about hot chevys starters they arent easy to restart but at 11.2 that old red top cranked me back up so i could pull the car into the garage. another small story is a buddy of mine had a red toip in his 4x4 and he landed very ******* the node once cracking the baterys base open exposing the batterys insides, the battery lasted the day and got him home, a week later after it sat on his porch all week it was put into a old car that needed moved and it fired that car up. bash them all you want but every one i know that uses them wont use any thing else, as far as a dud goes its possible , but perhaps you have a draw issue in the car as well. sorry you seem to have bad luck with red tops.

 

[JustinSane]

The optima red top is a amazing battery , i am sorry you have issues .

 

[Shoman594]

Hmmm, maybe they have cut some costs over the years. I have had my Redtop perform with no problem for 8 years.

 

[TYSHO]

Wow, I thought I was the only one having a problem with the red top. I'm experiencing the same exact problem! And whoever said something about the car having a charge issue, I put that battery in my other SHO's with the same result. The car is fine with a different battery.

 

[Storm-Chaser]

Man do these batteries stink. I know this has been covered before, but I would like to reiterate it. I had a red top for 2.5 years and it died (so much for twice the life of a normal battery) of internal short. Got it replaced back in April after haggling with the guy at pep boys. Yesterday I go out to my car and I can’t open the car with the remote. Once I do get in there is no clock, lights, ect... so I jump the car and drive it awhile. Go back out a couple hours later and very, very dim lights. I go to take a current draw reading and the battery is hot, and there is only .06amps being drawn. I disconnect it and bring it inside and the battery continues to get hotter. I put a thermocouple on it and it went up to 115 degrees. I put a fan on it till the morning. Go get a battery charger with diagnostic capability guess what, internal short (3 months old.) Bring it back to pep boys and once again I have to argue with the guys. They said:
1. The battery is not for the SHO.
2. It’s a deep cycle and your not using it as a deep cycle.
Had to explain to them that its a group 34 size battery and should work no problem, and that the yellow top is a deep cycle not the red. Why is it that parts people seem to always know the exact opposite of what is actually true.

If this battery lasts a year or so I’ll accept that I got my moneys worth and move on to something else. It just boggles my mind how a company with that much advertising (Optima) can put out a battery that 25% of the people know is crap and still stay in business. How is it not more widely know?
In conclusion, no more Optima’s for me. Buyers beware.
Rant Off.

Because it's still under warranty, and they don't "make a sale" on an "under warranty" item....

The thermal build-up is due to a run-away situation that occurs in some types of batteries when they go above a certain temperature. At some point internal battery temperature results in a self-discharge. The system continues to [attempt] to charge the discharging battery, further discharging the battery, increasing internal battery temp, and resulting in a thermal run-away. The condition can be initiated by an internal short in the battery, or by trying to rapidly charge a discharged battery that elevates the internal temperature beyond the threshold for self-discharge.


I too have wondered why people keep buying these. One, NAPA's version is cheaper. Two, when the fail they fail abruptly. Three, you can run two top-of-the-line any other battery for the price of one Optima....

 

[SASHO91]

Optima=FTL
Odyssey=FTW

 

[SlowHeavyObject]

i'm sorry to hear your misfortune. i guess part of the reason is that you bought it from pep boys. think about it. would you buy a supercharger from pep boys? the only thing places like autozone, strauss, walmart, and pep-boys are good for are either light bulb replacements or non-rebuilt stock replacement parts. it seems they get the parts after the suppliers ship out the ones that pass qc with flying colors to other places. i once got a k&n from them that wasn't oiled completely. then a rebuilt water pump that leaked 2 days after. and another time a brand new alternator that they put on for me lit on fire when i drove it off the lot (wired correctly too)!

i've used both tops. but i've also bought them from places that don't have a reputation for selling crap or getting the grade-b stuff. i know sometimes i have to pay a little more but i like helping keep my speed shop open. i've had a red top now on my mustang for 10+ years and one time it fired up in the morning after i left my lights on all one rainy nite during a graveyard shift. i've kept a yellow top on a car after i ripped out a 2000w system and high amp alt and had no problems. the only battery i trust after optimas is interstate.

 

[Jonny Cash]

Ive found that the red tops dont last long, and hate the cold. In 2 years, Ive relplaced it twice only because it had a warranty. When its time to be replaced, needless to say I wont be buying another one. They dont fit correctly in the stock battery holder anyway.

 

[JustinSane]

they dont hate the cold, i live in the north east we get as cold as it gets, i would leave my redtop in my nova all winter with out a battery tender on it, come spring i would jump the car and go, i was speaking to area91 tonight he also uses them almost exclusivly, and we just cant understand how any one could have problems with such a fantastic battery. my father is old school and used to run 2 normal batterys in his drag car cause thats how they used to do it back in the day, i told him to put 1 redtop in there instead of 2 normal style and he wouldnt ever have aproblem cranking his high compression big blocks again, well its many years later and he even has a redtop in his towtrailers electric winch box now , heck once a while back my brother got deal on a blemished brand new mini optima redtop sized for sport compacts, he has ran it in his drag vega for 3 years now again replacing 2 normal batterys and the one he got is a small one! i put them threw hot i put them threw long cold storage, i ran them dead and left them dead for months before recharging, i run them in my daily drivers and not once have i had to return one, infact like i said some of mine are over 6 years old and work as good as new. for every 1 person who has had a problem with these batterys there are hundred of people like me who wouldnt use any thing else.

 

[AREA 91]

I consider myself lucky. 2 red tops. Ran them both dead at least TWICE! Still running.

 

[JustinSane]

I consider myself lucky. 2 red tops. Ran them both dead at least TWICE! Still running.

yeah try running a normal battery stone dead, let alone twice and have it come right back and work as good as new.

 

[shovermont]

damn i have had my redtop in four different cars, drove it 230 miles with an unplugged altenator one time, half the distance was with lights on. i just put mine in the sho for the first time and tonight it ran, first night on it though. just went for almost 2 months of starting the taurus, well just turning it over and sitting for one of those two months. get a diehard if you dont like redtops. good luck

 

[TRSCobra]

get a diehard if you dont like redtops.

Or a cheaper Advance auto parts Autocraft battery. Diehard and Autocraft are both made by the same company (Johnson Controls). I've worked for both companies, seen every type of battery come back multiple times.

And about optimas, most of my friends run "returned under warranty" optimas in their cars. We're getting YEARS of use out of these supposedly "defective" batteries.

 

[SolidState]

I replaced a Die Hard with an Optima Blue Top...so far so good, but I haven't done a winter yet with it...

 

[scholtes27_1960]

my brother has had nothing but problems with the red top, took it back to advanced auto i think it was like 3 times in last 2 years. it sounds on here that the only ones that are lasting, are the ones made years ago. i've been running an Orbital 06 battery for years, haven't had any problems with it. but i got it at work through napa. the company i work for uses them to power electric cranes on service trucks, so i guess they should work in a car even with a 1400 watt system and a girlfriend that doesn't think the headlights should get turned off when she gets to work.

 

[dmoo21]

i'll put in my 2 cents

i have ran a yellow top in the SHO since 2 days after i got it. its going on 3 years of starting with one winter off. I have left lights on for multiple hours and it still starts strong. i have discharged it many times running inverters on it out of the car ( i know its a deep cycle so it should be good). also have a blue top that i share with my dad between using that as a jump starter in the winter and for a trolling motor in the summer never had an issue with it. i plan on having a optima in the SHO and any other car i have until i have a major problem with one, which i hope is never.

i hope you have better luck with what ever batt. you choose next
-Dan

 

[JustinSane]

i'll put in my 2 cents

i have ran a yellow top in the SHO since 2 days after i got it. its going on 3 years of starting with one winter off. I have left lights on for multiple hours and it still starts strong. i have discharged it many times running inverters on it out of the car ( i know its a deep cycle so it should be good). also have a blue top that i share with my dad between using that as a jump starter in the winter and for a trolling motor in the summer never had an issue with it. i plan on having a optima in the SHO and any other car i have until i have a major problem with one, which i hope is never.

i hope you have better luck with what ever batt. you choose next
-Dan

optimas are awsome arent they?

 

[partsman1]

or you can try the exide orbital also have had good luck with selling and using these