Optima Battery Rant

So I've been planning my engine swap for about 2 years. i started with stuff I know I need/want, radiator, electric fan, h4 headlights and so on. relays and et all. My group 24 battery/ 35 amp delco alternator weren't even close, so I bought a 130a one wire alt and a red top optima. I think I paid $250+ for the battery alone, let alone the alternator. Anyhow, I had some issues a few months back with what I thought was wiring/ and maybe connections. Charged the battery, all was good. so tonight I had to bump start old Madeline, when I got home I checked voltage with all the loads on, 14v. I have used Optima batteries many times in the past, with no issues. I appreciate you guys listening, as the title says, this is a rant, written by a frustrated guy. Yes I am aware that they are are offshore now. It was very difficult to not use any cuss words ...

 

vega mill

 

I deliver auto parts part time
and have seen quite a few of them battery's returned
even the guys that buy them , have said quality is down on them now

 

Odyssey is the only thing I'll install in my Jeeps these days. More expensive but worth every penny. Especially so if there is a long hike involved if the battery fails. My last red top bit the dust in about 6 months and I am in no way going to buy another.

 

I just had to warranty a red top after two years. When this one fails out of warranty, I won't get another.

 

I started using Interstate and have had great luck with them.

 

I've too have had issues with Optima batteries. The biggest issue seems to be letting them get low. Having them on a battery tender for a vehicle that sits a lot and has parasitic load seems to greatly extend their lifespan. The consensus online is that the quality went downhill many years ago when they got bought out and production moved to Mexico.

Optima disputes this on their web site: OPTIMA Batteries Suck? The Truth. You'll notice they don't mention anything about longevity of their batteries or how people's problems go away when they switch to a different brand.

Having had enough with Optima, I bought an AGM battery from O'Reilly for the '69. It's been a year and a half so far and always cranks the Jeep over, even if it sits for a month. We'll see how it holds up:

 

Yeah, I’m planning on going with an AGM next time too.

 

Yeah, it's pretty well known they went downhill on the quality several years back. All of my Rubicon jeep friends have gone away from them. My advice, Odyssey. Only like $30 more. I have been running one for 4 years, no issues. I have a solar setup for running my fridge while we aren't moving, it has worked flawlessly with the Odyssey deep cycle. I also tried a Autozone AGM, which was a little less expensive, in my Dodge WC, failed in 2 years. I run Interstates in daily drivers, no issues.

 

I don't really worry about brand anymore. They're only made by a few companies anyway. I mostly look for AGM batteries. I like NAPA so buy there quite often but don't have an issue with getting one else where as long as it's an AGM or sealed battery. This helps cut way down on corrosion issues from vented gas from a regular wet battery.

Optimas went to crap about a decade ago when they moved their manufacturing facility.

 

So I took the optima back to my local Autozone, Dude tested it and told me it was good. I called B.S. and he tested it again and called it nfg. so they gave me a new one, under warrantee. I installed it, and it behaves about the same. with all my accessories on the b+ voltage is 14.2. I will put my amp clamp on it tomorrow, and probably condemn this one as well. I'll keep you all posted

 

Might be worth jumping it or trying a different battery to make sure the starter hasn't gone out?

 

Sure it is not the charging or regulation at fault?

 

I'm pretty sure the charging system is functioning properly, I will be digging into it further in the next couple days, the shop is plugged and the weather isn't great.

 

Update, yes the contacts in the starter solenoid were not so good. Probably a result of the low voltage from the previous bunk Optima. I got frustrated with the whole affair there for a minute. Please keep in mind that Madeline was Vega powered when I bought her, and the engine has been a bit of a zero $ experiment with how long it would run. 2 years and it don't owe me a thing. Buick swap is coming real soon, headers should be here tomorrow. Thanks guys.

 

Sometimes it's the weird things that work. That Vega mill for example. I have a top of the line (for a decade ago) Sears Die Hard in Farm Jeep Willy since I built it. A friend worked at Sears at the time and this one was warranteed and in the scrap pile. I charged it and it has been in service ever since. It has to be the better part of a decade old. It was used when I got it. Crazy!

 

I've been hearing for years that Optima's have been junk since they went overseas. I have at least a dozen of them in service, varying from 8-9 yrs old up to 1yr or so.
The only time I've had an issue with one prematurely biting the dust was 2 or 3 years ago. My mom let her hot rod sit for 6-7 months without turning the battery disconnect off. The electric door locks/alarm drained the battery to absolutely dead..... In a rush to get it running I used the 200 amp jump start feature on my charger to get it running......
I put it on an old school 2 amp charger for a couple days and it came back up to about 8 volts, but never would charge above that.
The optima red top in my Jeep is from 2014.... It was the first improvement I made after buying the Jeep.

 

Since I bought my RV I have done a lot of battery research, are you saying that at a rest your Optima without the vehicle running is showing 14volts and you say that is bad? If anything I would think that is overcharged.
My Interstate group 31 deep cycle AGM batteries fully charged do not go above 13.3v, that is also what Interstate says they should be at. These are 100ah batteries, at that state of charge, the 2 of them ran everything in my RV including furnace heater fan, all lights, microwave, refrigerator, radio and a few other things for 2 solid days and were down to only 42% capacity. That also included running the hydraulic leveling system and running the slides in and out.
I have learned enough in the last 2 months from full time RV’ers to realize that in my 57 years on earth I was completely ignorant of what batteries do, how they do it and how to properly cycle them and charge them.

 

The very first upgrade to my jeep was a pair of yellow tops. That was Nov '99. One gave out 3-1/2 years later. The other lasted 18 years, yup 18. Replaced both with new yellow tops (after much debate) in 2017 and no problems at all. If the jeep sits I keep the batteries charged. Maybe I'm just lucky.