Strange things are happening with the red top optima wth?

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tubalubb

tubalubb

what do you mean by "put it back together"?
10 Year
Joined
Jun 27, 2013
Threads
120
Messages
648
Location
Madison, MS
so the large battery in the lx was looking crusty and I planned to install the red top from the fj40 but I needed anew charger. Today I finally bought a replacement battery charger and after about 45 minutes the optima was fully charged. I removed the large generic battery and installs the red top. When I went to start the truck it took forever to start and then the motor constantly surged. I took out the red top and reinstalled the old battery and the truck fired right up only surge twice then normal. Battery tests at 13.15v
So it has me a little concerned because I had a ton of problems in the 40 electrical and ultimately mechanical and am now doing a full rebuild. Could a battery cause a ton of problems and still test ok? Anyone had problems like this with a rt?
Tub
 
1973Guppie said:
optima batteries are junk. They have gone to hell since johnson controls bought them awhile back. Go get another battery. At this point they are all marketing.
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I hate to say this but I tend to agree......when I first bought my cruiser I bought a orange top optima, lasted forever it seemed, but now I am running a red top and I let it discharge and now it seems as if it wont hold a charge for longer than a week, so I have an extra battery plus maintainer plugged in all week to keep it up till I use it on the weekends........looks like a new battery for me and I wont be buying another optima, and I used to swear by them, sigh, no more though
 
So who are the best battery manufacturers out there??? I always assumed that optima was leading the pack.
 
I have to clarify, after sitting 7 days it WILL start the truck, just cranks noticeably slower and now that its finally getting colder I don't want to chance that it might give up on me....but I have a 110 mile a day commute for work, so driving the guzzler is not an option, so she is my weekend warrior right now
 
Hate to :deadhorse:. But what everyone else is saying is true. I made the mistake of going through 2 Optima's before finding out they have gone to crap. One of the failures was a shorted cell, but this only happened some of the time. Left me stranded several times. The thing was is it would then take a charge and show no signs of issues for a week or 2. Then it would just kill the engine. It was the hardest "ghost in the machine" that I have ever had to chase. I was so pissed when I found out that it was the battery, such a simple fix. I took the battery in and got another and the brand new battery would not keep a charge. I ended up getting a credit on the optima's and buying an Interstate. No battery issues since.

Steer clear of the Optima's now. Marketing ain't everything.
 
rblain82 said:
So who are the best battery manufacturers out there??? I always assumed that optima was leading the pack.
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everyone says the sears diehard is a great battery,....I just bought a top of the line duralast for my BMW 330ci [autozone cause that was close to where I was when the battery died] so far its been a champ, but that was only back in july so no real test of it yet other than it cranks hard and fast every day....so I may look into another duralast, BUT with that being said, my buddy is a DOH guy and gets favors from Advance all the time , and says he can get me a free replacement for my optima and that's better than $200 all day every day
 
NLXTACY said:
Sears Diehard Platinum, made by Odyssey, is no more so Duralast is next.
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Yeah, I teared up when I found this out as well. :(
 
tubalubb said:
so the large battery in the lx was looking crusty and I planned to install the red top from the fj40 but I needed anew charger. Today I finally bought a replacement battery charger and after about 45 minutes the optima was fully charged. I removed the large generic battery and installs the red top. When I went to start the truck it took forever to start and then the motor constantly surged. I took out the red top and reinstalled the old battery and the truck fired right up only surge twice then normal. Battery tests at 13.15v
So it has me a little concerned because I had a ton of problems in the 40 electrical and ultimately mechanical and am now doing a full rebuild. Could a battery cause a ton of problems and still test ok? Anyone had problems like this with a rt?
Tub
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DITTO to what everyone is saying, my red top lasted one (1) week, on the advice of @LandCruiserPhil I purchased a Marine 31 battery from Sears, I've had it a year and it's a powerful, reliable battery.

Zona
 
jonheld said:
Please explain. Did the contract that Enersys had with Sears expire?
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There was nothing ever publicaly stated. It was likely an 8 year contract. Call any Sears and you'll hear the same thing about being discontinued. Local guy needed his replaced under warranty. Golds are the replacement with an eh warranty.
 
NLXTACY said:
There was nothing ever publicaly stated. It was likely an 8 year contract. Call any Sears and you'll hear the same thing about being discontinued. Local guy needed his replaced under warranty. Golds are the replacement with an eh warranty.
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LOL. Of course, because I need a battery now.
Found a not-so-local Odyssey dealer that has the 34R-PC1500 in stock for a decent price. Finally dumping the Optima red-top that came with the truck when I bought it.
 
i have the duralast marine lead acid for about 4 years on my DB setup. No problems and good battery. I bought 2 platiniums and only replaced the main battery so far.
 
Thank you all. This really has some disturbing ramifications for what happened to my 40 and why I'm on this forum in the first place. If a battery that tests fine operates like that I'm a 2f and strains the system it could have caused a ton of the issues that ultimately lead,me to have to yank the motor and ruin some stuff. it explains the strange alternator issue and ammeter spikes and caused a great deal of damage that was not readily apparent. I took great care of my 40, had to as it was a dd. These problems presented sort of out of the blue and intermittently but the motor was strong enough to overcome. I'm so po'd. Not saying that it's the only cause but it explains a great deal. Crap.
I was ready to buy a yellow top as they're on sale on Amazon right now.
Was surprised as to how big the battery in the truck now is, it looks like a diesel battery.
 
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