How long do Optimas last?

carguy07

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What kind of life are you guys getting out of your Optima batteries? I bought one 2 ½ years ago and I am starting to have some charging problems. I leave mine on a tender all the time, but it has been starting slow even though it should be topped off.

Today I fired it up, it started slow but not too bad. Drove maybe 1/2 mile and it seemed ********** like it was missing. Stopped for gas and turned it off to fill up, fired it up again, cranked slow but started.

Headed home and turned it off in the driveway to move a few things in the garage. Hopped in the car and it would barely turn over then it just died and set the alarm.

I charged it with a real charger for about 15 minutes and used the starter feature on the charger to jump it. Pulled it in the garage and hooked up the tender back up. Within a ½ hour the tender had it almost toped off again, which seems way to fast as dead as it was.

I’m starting to think I have a dead cell or a bad tender. Do Optimas die this fast?
 

V10SpeedLuvr

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Warranty on a redtop should be 7 years. I'd get it tested if I was you. When I was fighting my idle hang, someone suggested it may be my battery. I hadnt had any cranking problems, but took the battery out and had it tested anyway. It failed the test. They gave me a new Optima redtop. 1st battery was under a year old. If this battery gives me any problems that quick, I will not be putting another Optima in my car. Then again, I have two other cars with Optima batteries for over a year each and zero problems out of them.
 

twinturbo3150

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optima are great for everyday drivers, but if you dont drive the car enough, I wouldn't get the optima. Once they discharge they are a PIG to charge, due to the tight spiral wraps make it so dense. If you do plan on going with the optima in the viper get a battery tender,
 

Leslie

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optima are great for everyday drivers, but if you dont drive the car enough, I wouldn't get the optima. Once they discharge they are a PIG to charge, due to the tight spiral wraps make it so dense. If you do plan on going with the optima in the viper get a battery tender,

BINGO

have a red top in the Viper and my other car, if either one sits for more than 2-3 wks there's a problem starting it.
 

ronniej

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I had a red top in my RT/10. If I turned off the car and left the headlights on for a couple minutes, it would barely turn over. The same if I let it sit for a couple weeks.
 
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Optima Caution GEN I&II owners. The battery tray height varies from car to car. The Optima will NOT fit in some cars. Before buying the battery verify tray to frame height to see if the top post will clear.

IMHO the stock battery is the best solution for normal use. Heavy track use may require another battery choice in which case the battery tray could be lowered if necessary.
 

ryan94rt10

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hey carguy,

i've also heard it isn't good to hook a battery to a tender all the time...the battery needs to run through a few cycles every so often...so don't hook the tender up all the time...let it run down for about a week, then hook the tender back up...this should help the battery live longer...especially here in the cold winter area of ohio!

basically what i'm trying to say is...if you hook the battery up to a tender all the time, it gets used to it, and after a year of doing this, when it isn't hooked up it will lose charge quickly and leave you stranded somewhere when you shut the car off!
 
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carguy07

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Well, the answer to my own question turned out to be 2 ½ years. Mine was completely shot. At least the replacement was free.

The battery tender stuff says it’s safe to run all the time, but I think I will exercise it up and down a little more this time.

I trolled some other sites and found that Optima sold out to Johnson Controls a few years ago. I guess the quality control has gone down hill with the new company.

I think I need to change my vote on the design element that I don’t like most thread. :rolleyes:
 
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