no55mad, I wish Optima advertised on or sponsored all of the boards where I am active. However, that is not my call and probably not feasible, given the number of boards where I am active. If you are involved in soliciting for Alliance Vendors, feel free to shoot me a PM and I can give you the contact information for the people who handle our advertising inquiries and I'll copy them on our conversation. Denise, I took a look at that thread and the comments in it. I'm sorry to hear you had so much trouble with your battery. In looking at the picture you posted, it appears as if your battery is located in very close proximity to your exhaust manifold. How many inches away from your manifold is your battery as it is pictured in this thread and why do you think the battery began to melt in that particular spot? After you pointed out the melted area, I was surprised to read the subsequent comments and see that only Scott K said, I still say that not having a heat shield on the battery is also a big problem. The paint on the tray has been cooked off over the years, so it's getting plenty hot..too hot. I am glad to hear your vehicle has been running fine ever since, with the only change being a different battery. I don't know what kind of equipment Jimi Day carries around with him at shows, but I usually have a multimeter with me. I don't know what was said at the show, but from reading that thread, it sounds like he checked the voltage of your battery while your engine was running and it measured 12.6 volts. Even though someone else in that thread suggested a properly-functioning charging system should be putting out 12.5 volts, we typically we suggest alternator output to be approximately 13.7-14.7 volts (as do most other folks). I should also mention that contrary to the charging information posted by GMC BUBBA in that thread, we do not recommend charging our batteries at a rate higher than 10 amps. I realize that thread is a bit dated, but Kyle & Stacy do have our batteries listed for sale on their website and they seem to have a pretty good relationship with us, based on every experience I've had with them. In fact, they came and spoke at Optima headquarters last spring, just prior to our Faceoff event at Road America. I know some people in that thread suggested Jimi Day knew more about marketing than cars, but that is simply not the case (although he knows a lot about both). I've known him for several years and known of him for even longer and he has a very good reputation within the industry. He has built some fairly high-profile cars and recently competed in the One Lap of America. I'm sorry he was unable to assist you, but it wasn't because of a lack of automotive knowledge on his part. Jim McIlvaine eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc. www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
Very close? looks to be about 4" or more to me. Which is pretty standard for a lot of cars. I know you are sent here to calm down the Optima hate but get serious. And if it was to hot there would be a more uniform melting and not just a single spot like that. Looks like a problem from inside the battery to me.
I'm with zman on this one, if it was heat related to the manifold, the whole side of the battery would have blistered. That is localized heat and a lot of it. This is why I will continue to buy regular, cheap batteries that last 5+ years with a good charging system on it. The battery in my Dodge just died and it's a stock battery that lasted 9 years and 130K+ miles.
Wow, less than a month old and OPTIMA didn't stand behind it? I am sorry to hear that Denise. I don't blame you for not getting another one. I have used three of their batteries and have never had any issues, yet! (Knock on wood)! But I will keep all this in mind before I drop another $200 on my next battery purchase. Us HAMB guys (and girls) have to stick together!
Not at the show I guess My local O'Reilys Auto Parts store did take it back and would have given me another Optima if that is want I wanted. I didn't want another one at that point so I got the best regular battery the store had in stock in exchange.
What about an answer on the quality issues people are reporting on the new imported optima batteries? People are reporting the old ones are good, but there are serious questions about the Mexican ones.
I've had good luck with regular lead acid batteries - the original one in my '96 Ranger went 7 years. I always keep them clean and replace sealed batteries with those that allow me to check the electrolyte level and specific gravity. The red top Optima in my '06 Ranger came with the truck. It was a new rollover that I repaired, and the salvage yard gave me the Optima (it was used, but kept on a charging station with many batteries being charged in parellel) to replace the original which didn't do well when the truck was on it's side. Ford installed a factory heat shield on it's battery, even though it is a foot away from the exhaust manifold. I've paid no attention to the Optima and never gave it a thought until I started seeing these Optima threads. Last month, I bought a car that been an ongoing project for many years. The owner had installed a red top Optima in the rumble seat compartment in '09. I'd already seen these threads, so I asked him how the battery had been maintained. He also said that he'd done nothing. The car had been driven maybe 50 miles since it became roadworthy a year ago, and probably started and moved around the shop as many times. When I first looked at the car, we drove it maybe 5 miles, and started it at least five times. When I picked it up two weeks later, it was started another 5 or 10 times during the loading and unloading process. I checked the battery when I got it home. The terminals were spotless, the cables and battery hold-down looked like new, the voltage was 11.4 volts. Again, had I not seen these threads, I probably wouldn't have even looked at this battery as it started the engine instantly - better than a conventional battery would at this low voltage. I charged the Optima on my little 2amp/10amp Schauer charger. It took a few hours to start charging - the voltage would hover around 12.30V to 12.40V on the 2 amp setting, then gradually increased to the 14.6V range over 3 days. This charger is not voltage controlled - on the 10 amp setting, the voltage rises to over 16 volts, so I won't use it on this setting. 24 hours after disconnecting the charger, the battery showed 12.7V. I turn the lights on for 30 seconds, and it returns to 12.65/12.7V range in a few minutes. I think it is fine, and I will continue to monitor it's behavior.
I have several red tops ,went bad after 1 or 2 years.I bought them because they were sealed,now with the price up on them I am useing a interstate and venting the battery box.I have mine mounted in trunk. Even charging with another wet cell in series it didn't help with the battery life.
I returned a red top to autozone after about 9 months,asked if charging system was good,gave me a new one in less than 5 min.I was buying another one this year for another car of mine asked about return policy ,was told it was limited looked on website and informed them of company policy.Decided not to chance all the red tape.Bought battery from interstate with no problem. Shouldn't carry product if you don't believe in it.
Stinger Power2 (red top) have a 3 year warranty. Stinger yellow top batteries have a 1 year warranty. They come in many sizes and while high quality, are not inexpensive.
I guess any battery {not just Optima} can go bad at any time & there are a multitude of individual circumstances that can contribute to their usefull lifespan. With todays technology.... the battery companies could make a battery that lasts 20 years if they wanted to.... except they would put themselves outta business if they did that.
I have two optimas, one is in my streetrod it came with the car I bought in 2004. I have a battery tender on it. The car was in the bodyshop 3 or 4 years ago for 3-4 mos. The battery died. We jump started the car and drove it to another shop. I decided to buy another optima to replace the 1st. The battery died again at the second shop. When finally got the car home I just decided to put the battery tender on the old battery; it is still working to date go figure. I then put the 2nd optima in my truck and it is work fine. Put there is a catch the optima's can not stand alone for long periods. After not using the truck for 2 weeks w/o a tender the optima would died ,it happen twice. It's find now, considering the truck is used 4-5 x a week. Hope this helps. Tony
i had great luck with mine in a jeep..a normal battery wouldnt take the bouncing .my battery box broke once and the battery landed upside down on the frame.it shorted out every wire from the frame to the body,melted the plastic oil presure line to the gauge,melted the b&m shifter cable.pretty much fried everything.... i rigged up enough wires to make it run and jump started it and off i went..the top terminals where half melted off...lasted 7 years .was still i the jeep when i sold it...
I have an Optima that won't keep a charge. I've tried to charge it in sequence with a "regular" battery and no luck. Maybe it's just a dead soldier. I was expecting more I guess. I should drive my car more.
I have a red top 12V in my stock model A (I converted to 12V)for 5 years now and only drive it a few times a year and never have had a problem. On the other hand a lady friend of mine has a red top 6V in her stock model A for less that a year and it just wont hold a charge. how long is the warranty on the Optima?
I must just be lucky, I still have the first one I bought 11 years ago in my Wrangler, It gets parked for weeks and sometimes months at a time, and always starts. I have a 6V one in my Willys, that sat for 13 Months on a concrete floor, after a good trickle charge it has been working great for the last 3 months, getting started once or twice a week but not getting driven much. I have a 3rd, this one a Yellow top that is in my trailer to power the winch, I have it hooked up to a Harbor freight 18" x 18" solar panel on top of my trailer mounted tool box to keep it topped off. It often sits for over 6 months at a time and has never needed a charge or any maintenence whatsoever.
Lets be VERY clear. There is a SIGNIFICANT difference between "unable" and "unwilling". From your description it sounds like Jimi runs with a high dollar/high profile crowd and can/does make things happen when he wants to (marketing men seem to shine when they feel the need). While it may not be a lack of knowledge, lack of interest more likely. After owning a couple Optimas in the past I had 2 new Optimas fail miserably withing months of each other on my wifes daily driver in 2007. Please note - I purchased the new Optima for my wifes 2002 SUV which has never had a charging problem to replace the stock factory battery. Less than a month after the purchase, the first new Optima stranded her and our son at night after a winter school program. Replacement was free, 2 months later I was standing at the parts counter again with yet another new dead Red Top in hand. Her SUV has had a more affordable Interstate in it since late in 2007 and has never had a problem since. Gamble on another Optima, thats a looser bet.
Two more cents worth, Ive had a red top in the race car for 3 years with no problems, always on a battery tender, but in the last 6 years, i've had 3 go bad quickly, I'm not buying anymore until mfg. addresses quality control issues.
zman & Diavolo, I'm sure our engineers would be interested in hearing your theories on how the blistering on that battery originated from inside of it. Denise, I certainly wouldn't dismiss your friend's theory about the battery being dropped, especially if you dropped it or someone else did. Did that happen or did the case show any physical signs of being dropped when you had it (cracks, unusual abrasions, etc...)? I think it could also be possible that Jimi's equipment may have been malfunctioning, just as it is also possible a loose cable could be tightened when a battery is replaced and resulted in different readings. Having not been there to hear the conversation you had with Jimi, I don't know what was said versus how it was remembered by either of you and I'm again sorry to hear that you were not pleased with the outcome. I know Jimi to be a very concientious guy and as hard as some people think my job is, I think his is even more difficult. I wasn't suggesting you should've bought a battery from Detroit Speed. I was just surprised by your comments about them not selling our products, since it appears as if they are listed on their website. When someone comes to me online and complains about our batteries, because they went through three in one day, I at least get time to think about my response and take a longer look at the situation (if that happens with any company's batteries, the problem is likely not the batteries). For example, the reason why CharlieLed posted that LiveWire64's batteries are, the worst looking 1 year old batteries I have ever seen, is because none of those batteries are a year old. The newest of those batteries is probably five years old or older and at least three of those batteries are 15-20 years old. Given that timeline, I'm still interested in hearing the circumstances surrounding the issues attributed to those batteries. When someone comes to Jimi in person, he has to deal with them immediately and do his best to understand their situation and try to help them. I at least sometimes have the benefit of someone else occasionally chiming in on a thread, maybe even reminding the OP that their battery issues might be related to the stereo and alarm system they are trying to install. I don't know what I would say to a guy who walked up to me at a show and complained that his three-month old Optima had failed and pointed to a date sticker on the battery that was eight years newer than the date code stamped into the battery case. I do appreciate your feedback (as well as everyone else's) and I will certainly forward it to the appropriate parties on our end. Most of the batteries I see in engine compartments, even in older cars, are tucked in the corners of the compartments, either up on the firewall or up front by the grille. Denise, is your engine original to your car and is your battery in the original location? I realize my '92 pickup isn't as old as most of the vehicles on this site, but it does have a fairly spacious engine compartment and even so, the GM engineers decided it was best to mount my battery in the front corner, with the closest corner of the battery being 12 inches from the closest part of my headers. While I'm sure there are some cars that have batteries within a few inches of the exhaust manifolds, that can lead to problems for any battery as engines get hot. A good example of a questionable location would be the guy I previously mentioned in the other thread, who decided to mount his battery upside down, straddling his exhaust pipes. I'm sure Denise would be happy to measure the distance for us on her car and I guess the question I would have is, for those who feel mounting a battery four inches (or whatever that distance might be) from an exhaust manifold is not too close, what distance is too close? Coolbreeze1340 & brokenspoke, as Denise indicated, Optima does have a return policy, but the rig we have at events is not set up as a mobile warranty service center. It sounds like her original retailer did take the battery back under warranty and offered her a free replacement, which is one reason why I don't understand why LiveWire64 is holding on to that collection of what CharlieLed characterized as, the worst looking 1 year old batteries I have ever seen. silentpoet, it has been really interesting to see people try to make a connection between the perceived quality of our batteries and where they are produced or JCI's ownership of Optima. I've actually wondered if Optima changed their logo, if people would start complaining about the batteries with the old logos being better than the batteries with the new logos. The fact is, the batteries we are manufacturing today are the best we have ever made and we do manufacture all of our own batteries, in our own facility. The quality of the batteries made in our Colorado facility was excellent, but our new facility benefits from being built from the ground up, using state-of-the-art technology and automated manufacturing processes that significantly reduce variability, while increasing quality and reliability. Many of the bad batteries returned to us now are just deeply-discharged and work fine when properly recharged. I'm driving around with one of those bad YellowTops in my pickup truck right now. We have implemented programs at the retail level to help better educate our retail partners and we have also created a series of YouTube videos, which also help explain not just our batteries specifically, but battery technology in general. At the end of the day, I know that there are millions of people who buy our batteries, have positive experiences like flatoutflyin's and won't ever bother to say anything, while the folks who do have issues can be very vocal in their displeasure. Rogue63, even though our batteries are considered sealed, any lead-acid battery mounted in an enclosed space, like your trunk, should be properly-vented to the outside air, as all lead-acid batteries can vent gas that is both flammable and toxic in extreme overcharging situations. MotherTrucker, I think battery companies can make some batteries that last 20 years under the right conditions. However, you have to find a battery company who makes those types of batteries and has been around for 20 years. Tony, whenever a battery is discharged to the point where a vehicle needs to be jump-started, it is a good idea to fully-charge the battery with a battery charger as soon as possible. Most alternators are designed to maintain batteries, not recharge deeply-discharged batteries. Asking an alternator to perform that task can lead to a cycle of dead batteries and jump-starts, until either the battery or alternator fails. While I think the vast majority of shops are very good about not discharging the batteries of customer vehicles, I have read more than a few stories about batteries (ours and others) dying while a vehicle was at a shop. Sometimes, it doesn't take much more than a door to be accidentally left open, to discharge a battery. Tony, based on what you described about your battery discharging in your truck after sitting for two weeks, I was wondering if you could tell me what the parasitic draw is on that vehicle? Landmule, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've been having with your battery. What is the voltage of the battery right now and what kind of maintainer or tender do you use when your car is in storage? modelaman, you can view all of our warranty information here. Jim McIlvaine eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc. www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
Seriously dude, you are here as nothing more than damage control. You are merely a PR guy tasked with quelling the uproar that is the HAMB. We can see right through it. You absolutely have an answer for everything that absolves Optima of any fault. Get over it already. There are issues and you know it.
Thanks Zman...was wondering when this call was going to get made, I had already pulled myself off this thread due to it sounding repetitive..and that I will no longer have "Optima" issues...'cause i solved my problems with never buying another one...ever
even though I havent had a problem with my old 12v red top yet. but my lady friend that has had nothing but problems with her new 6v red top. we have also solved our problems with the Optima as well, as we will also never be buying another one.
zman, I wish I had all the answers, as it would certainly make my job a lot easier. Unfortunately I do not, which is why I am interested in hearing your explanation on how the blistering on this battery started on the inside, as well as trying to learn more about Denise's situation and the other folks who have participated in this thread. I read the boards all the time and it is not uncommon for folks to post that they wish manufacturers would listen to them. Well, I'm here, I'm listening and I'm asking questions. I hope you choose to participate in a way that can benefit us all. Jim McIlvaine eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc. www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
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