Well i came across it cleaning the shop on the weekend, didn't use it this summer as when i went to put it into my car and it would not hold a charge at all (worked amazing the season before, not one issue)it would not even it for 1 minute after shut-off. the 3 year warranty is up so i'm a bit screwed on a $250 battery, is there any way to get this thing back to life? the guy at the performance shop even tried to charge it on his special charger for optima's?, wouldn't hold. so ya..anything i can do to shock this thing back to life or am i taking it in for the $6 scrap?
i guess ill try paralleling them and see if that works, then maybe i should take it to the battery place and see if they can save it for me if that doesn't work..
Ive given up on the yellow tops. I had 2 that i warrantied twice in 3 years. The third one I got is going weak on me for the second time and its just outside the warranty
We wont deal optimas anymore. Failure rate skyrocketed a few years back. Our 6000 dollar charger cant recover them.
Well you two just boosted my confidence on recovering this battery....if all else fails i get 6 bucks back from 250ish..then im only out like 244..not bad!
I've never owned a Optma, after hearing all the problems from people I know always steered a wide path around them... The method of using a second battery to recharg that Optma indicates it has very low internal resistance and requires some "help" to allow the charger to function(keep charger from tripping out on overload)... If that is correct, my 1960s variable power supply should activate one by setting it to around four or five amps and let it charge, as voltage comes up amps will fall, probably need to raise amperage after it's charged for a couple hours... Problem is even though a battery may read 12-13v with a small meter as shown in video, there is no guarantee it's going to have enough current capability(amperage) to actually crank anything... I have waken up long dead wet batteries by using the variable power supply and hitting them with 18-24v for 15-20 minutes... Since it isn't regulated it's not something to walk away from but when the ammeter starts to climb, the battery is charging and can then be charged with a conventional charger... None of those long dead batteries had much reserve current, if the engine didn't start in 10 seconds or so it was finished and had to be recharged... BTW never allowing a battery to go "dead" will greatly extend their life, the battery in my Comet was bought in Sept '05, still cranks just fine... The orig in the '07 Grand Marquis is eight years old this month, also cranks great(I will replace it in the next couple weeks just because)...
I think my father used it for something and drained it down when i had it in the shop. i usually keep them charged up. ..just blew my mind when it wouldn't charge up for me since i never had an issue before or any signs of dying..elec fan would run while car was shut off till temps came down and it still fired up amazing, i've had my redtop for about 7 years now and it's still going good so i guess some of them last.
Being a "boat guy" for most of my life, I have lost my share of batteries over the winter months until I started buying inexpensive trickle chargers at Walmart. Never have lost one since. My experience with batteries that have been allowed to completely discharge is similar to that of Krazy's. They never hold a charge again.
I'm on my 3rd and last Optima. Mine has a dead cell after being in use for 3 years. Even Walmart economy batteries have a better warranty. I ran a worn out Interstate battery that I removed from a parts car I bought. Jumped the car off, charged it up when I got home and ran it for 8 years. I think I'm going to try an Odyssey battery next, since it is trunk mounted and needs to be sealed.
So i tried to bring 'ol yeller back to life with the methods in the video and didn't have any luck, got it up to 13+ volts when done charging it and i'd walk away for a couple hours and comeback to 11v, then 10v. so disgusted i may call them on monday to vent.
I have had good luck over the past few years with Duracell automotive and marine batteries sold at Sams club. I have used just the regular lead-acid, but there are also AGM and EHP series batteries. They are made by East Penn (Deka). No info on the warranty, though. I have never had to replace on yet.
