Strange things are happening with the red top optima wth?

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Yeah but it tests good so it's hard to tell. The 2f didn't surge as a telltale like the fj80 did, it probably presented gradually and was never noticed. I suspected something strange initially and even took it to the store where I got it but ( they just wanted to charge it and send it away as it had a month left of warranty).
Well I can use it for electrolysis I guess.
 
I'm not a battery expert by any means, but....

I had 2 gelcell batteries have really odd behavior when they died. 1 was an Exide and the other was a redtop Optima. These are not Landcruiser specific situations but are a bit telling. Both of these stories are about 10 years old....

The Exide was in a 1987 MR2 - That vehicle had a JDM 4agze supercharged motor swapped in and was running on Megasquirt 1V2.2. Driving down the freeway the car started to jerk and act odd with voltage spikes showing on the gauge. All of the sudden the engine quit. After several hours of figuring out what was happening (a fet driver blew in MS and when powered on was holding the injectors wide open). Got the vehicle on a trailer and to a friends house. Did an oil change (due to a lot of fuel being in the crankcase by this point) and fixed the MS. Saw the voltage spikes again, and shut it down. Failed alternator. Pulled it, took it to a parts store where they bench tested it - and it was perfect.

We put the alternator back in and swapped the battery for a standard battery. Voltage spikes disappeared, car ran perfect (or as perfect as the tune would allow).

The Optima was in a 1990 Corolla SR5/swapped GTS (sort of). The alternator was a stock Toyota unit. Everyone knows that when a battery dies - if you jump it and it keeps running the battery is dying. Had to jump it a few times and that wasn't an issue. The tester (I worked at a parts store) said the battery AND alternator were good. 2 days later the alternator quit. I couldn't jump it and keep it running. I had a spare alternator and threw it in.... and it started to act odd as well. Battery would hold a charge and would crank, but the car was running poorly. Knowing my exide problem in the past - I swapped to a conventional battery and the problems disappeared.
 
I don't know if they all carry the same brand (nor do I remember what brand it is) but I've had REALLY good luck with the batteries from Costco. My AE95 has one now.... that thing will sit for weeks on end, and it has a starting issue (where it needs to crank, wait, crank, wait, crank...maybe? wait... crank and start.... happens EVERY time it hasn't been run for 4-5 hours).... the old battery in the summer could barely keep up day to day... and the Costco battery will let the car sit for weeks on end and seems to have endless power.

I want to say my old Explorer got a Costco battery as well, and cranked significantly better in the cold than it ever did in the warm on the previous battery.

Exide batteries were always hit and miss when I sold them (used to work at CSK).... we would test them before the customer walked out the door since a large portion of them were bad 'out of the box' so to speak.
 
NLXTACY said:
Sears Diehard Platinum, made by Odyssey, is no more so Duralast is next.
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well dang......I guess if I cant get a freebee I will try a duralast.........
 
I am not sure as to why the Toyota Truestart Battery hasn't been mentioned, they have been wonderful for me. It's too bad you can't get hands on the Panasonic Battery that comes in the modern Toyota's out of the factory. The Panasonic is a wonderful unit. Had the original in my FJC from 2007 to 2015 and just changed it because it was down by about 120 CCA, not bad for 8 years old.
 
Cruizerjunkee said:
I am not sure as to why the Toyota Truestart Battery hasn't been mentioned, they have been wonderful for me. It's too bad you can't get hands on the Panasonic Battery that comes in the modern Toyota's out of the factory. The Panasonic is a wonderful unit. Had the original in my FJC from 2007 to 2015 and just changed it because it was down by about 120 CCA, not bad for 8 years old.
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same in my dad's FJ...still on the original battery from 2007
 
I get all my batt's at costco now. They are great quality, great warranty, low price and just work. Costco is all over the place if I need to return. I just took back an old batt and they gave me 75% of my money back. Sadly, they have changed their warranty but it is still good. I am now running 2 of their largest deep cycle RV batt's in my 80. Heavy as hell and very large. My 80 sits alot so the deep cycle was necessary. I have tons of power now and it was not expensive, well actually free as I stole them off of my tent trailer, lol. I did have to shoehorn them in there though.
 
Never had an issue with my Glass matt Yellow top deep cycle, bought it over a year ago. My CB has drained the battery on more occasions than I can count, sometimes the battery would be drained for weeks before recharging, I've even stick welded off of it. If I need to I jump the truck drive for 30 mins and make sure the CB is unplugged, then it will hold a charge just fine for months on end.
 
1973Guppie said:
I get all my batt's at costco now. They are great quality, great warranty, low price and just work. Costco is all over the place if I need to return. I just took back an old batt and they gave me 75% of my money back. Sadly, they have changed their warranty but it is still good. I am now running 2 of their largest deep cycle RV batt's in my 80. Heavy as hell and very large. My 80 sits alot so the deep cycle was necessary. I have tons of power now and it was not expensive, well actually free as I stole them off of my tent trailer, lol. I did have to shoehorn them in there though.
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Got to agree. I swapped to Costco as a matter need when the wife's Expedition ate the battery in the Costco parking lot. Since then I have put one in mine grand Cherokee (from choice). Both have been in for more than 3 years and work perfectly. (Touch wood). My 80 has a Toyota branded battery but I have no idea how long it has been there.
 
Optima were made by Interstate batteries. I get free Interstate batteries (a deal I worked out with them when I roofed the facilities). My understanding is that Interstate batteries isn't the same old Interstate batteries anymore. I know the Optima is made by Johnson controls and is s***. I have an Optima in my 80 now but when it gives up the ghost I will get a regular Interstate battery. Unless of course those are made by Johnson Controls as well...
 
Well at least my codes are cleared... And I'm guessing the alternatives suggested here will be a good deal less expensive than the optimas. Thanks all.
 
Interstate. Decent batteries and they are all over the place. Back woods gas stations, out of the way boat docks and maybe even under a few rocks in the desert. I run nothing else in the "fleet" that occupies my yard.
 
@cruiserdan do you run the Mega Tron Plus or the MT7 AGM?
 
SmokingRocks said:
Never had an issue with my Glass matt Yellow top deep cycle, bought it over a year ago. My CB has drained the battery on more occasions than I can count, sometimes the battery would be drained for weeks before recharging, I've even stick welded off of it. If I need to I jump the truck drive for 30 mins and make sure the CB is unplugged, then it will hold a charge just fine for months on end.
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Same here, good experiences with the Yellow Top over 10+ years. That's why there's a 27F Yellow Top in the LX.

It's the pansy Red Tops of the last few years, together with overblown advertising, and a fairly arrogant internet presence that didn't help matters much - remember the OptimaJim dude, who showed up on any 4x4 forum, and painstakingly explained that if you ever had an Optima fail, it was your own damn fault... and marketing decisions: for a while, their 'flagship' Yellow Top only came with 18 months of warranty - wow, what confidence in their own product... granted, they're back to 36 months on this, but I get 60 months for even money on the X2Power. We'll see how this works out.
 
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jonheld said:
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.
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Swapped in the new battery and, while I was in the neighborhood, replaced the fusible links. She seems so much happier now.
 
rblain82 said:
So who are the best battery manufacturers out there??? I always assumed that optima was leading the pack.
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Sears Die Hard Platinum or another option is an O'Reilly Super Start Extreme (AGM) which is a Deka Intimidator (at least it was last time I bought one).
 
+1 on the Costco. Their branded batteries were made by Interstate, but I heard that they no longer brand their own batteries and now just sell Interstate. I've had good luck with Costco batteries, plus Costco has good prices and excellent customer service.
 
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