Optima Red Top

I've got an Optima Red Top battery. I've had it for about 4 1/2 years. My problem is that it doesn't have much staying power to speak of. It starts the Jeep just fine, the problem is that if I put any load on it for any length of time, it loses its charge. About two weeks ago I was re-spooling my winch. No big load. I winched up a slight incline, with the engine running. When I finished, I parked the Jeep. The next morning the battery was dead. Today, I was replacing one of my rear speakers. After getting it hooked up, I turned the key to accessory and played a CD. Later, I tried to start the Jeep to go somewhere and the battery was dead. After jump starting and running around a little while, the battery starts the the engine just fine. I've got a good ground and all the connections are clean and tight. I haven't checked the alternator, but it charges the battery when its dead, so I imagine its good. I'm not used to batteries behaving this way. Usually, batteries will take a charge and are good or they don't and are bad. Is this normally how Optimas behave when they are dying?

Thanks,
RR3

I'm no battery expert by any means, but it sounds to me like it might be a result of a "starting battery" having been subjected to a few too many deep draw-downs, whether through winching or otherwise. That's the sort of use a deep cycle battery is designed to endure. While a starting battery will run a winch just fine, if the draw takes it way down it will never fully recover the way a deep cycle will.

I was talking to the Interstate Rep the other day(Interstate owns Optima) and was describing a similar problem I've been having. I also have a Red Top and it will drain down fairly quickly like you are describing. He said to take the battery and have it professionaly charged by someone who knows what they're doing. He said something about a hot charge or something for 3-4 hours and then a trickle charge for 36 hours. He said this should significantly restore the battery's capacity. I haven't had a chance to do this yet, and I will be consulting him again before I have it done, but he really sounded like he knew what he was talking about(said he used to service the batteries themselves before he was a rep). HTH

Ary

Sounds like it's about to croak....

Time for a yellow top.

ya it seems like its going but also what shape is your charging system in? and i'd just skip the yellow and go right to the blue top it is down right sweet.

Safari Ary said:

I was talking to the Interstate Rep the other day(Interstate owns Optima) and was describing a similar problem I've been having. I also have a Red Top and it will drain down fairly quickly like you are describing. He said to take the battery and have it professionaly charged by someone who knows what they're doing. He said something about a hot charge or something for 3-4 hours and then a trickle charge for 36 hours. He said this should significantly restore the battery's capacity. I haven't had a chance to do this yet, and I will be consulting him again before I have it done, but he really sounded like he knew what he was talking about(said he used to service the batteries themselves before he was a rep). HTH

Ary

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Not that it really matters but ,on the bottom of the Optima battery pamphlet it says-
"OPTIMA BATTERIES and OPTIMA SPIRALCELL TECHNOLGY are registered trademarks of Johnson Controls,Inc."
It would seen that Interstate Batteries and Optima are owned by someone bigger.
Wayne

Ralph said:

I've had it for about 4 1/2 years.
RR3

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Maybe?

JeepSpeed said:

Maybe?

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They're supposed to last 6 years.

RR3

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but what size Optima(yellow top) fits the '97 Cherokee. there is no Group size "58" in Optima, so which one is it, im thinking its the 34/78 but not sure? Thanks for your time.

-fonz

Mine is doing a similar thing (purchased late 1998...) But if I put the 2amp charger on it for a day or so it will start the jeep a few days later (after opening the doors and mucking around a few times)

I was debating about getting one of those little solar cell trickle chargers to just keep topping it off... I still might - but a new battery is more likely - just no $$ for that right now...

Matt

Fonzie14 said:

Sorry to jump in on this thread, but what size Optima(yellow top) fits the '97 Cherokee. there is no Group size "58" in Optima, so which one is it, im thinking its the 34/78 but not sure? Thanks for your time.

-fonz

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YUP....the 34/78 is the one I have. Fits perfectly (at least on my '89).

OK, for the Blue Tops, there's two different lines of Blues; one is a Red Top equiv with extra contact posts and the other is a Yellow Top equiv with extra posts.

I have the latter in my 93 XJ. D34M-950 (D for deep cycle). If you want a Red Top with extra posts, it's be a 34M-??? (no "D").

My partnumber is 8016-103.

bburge

XJZ said:

YUP....the 34/78 is the one I have. Fits perfectly (at least on my '89).

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thanks...
-fonz

Fonzie14 said:

thanks...
-fonz

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:thumbup: "HHHhhheeeeeeeyyyyy." I don't mess with the Fonz!