oh great, optima died
Originally Posted by gearbox
charging system is fine, just got a new alt less than a year ago. Well i had someone jump me, first time it struggled turning and didnt start. second time more struggle and finally it started. that battery was completely DEAD within an hour of driving the car. It was having a hard time getting to advance before they closed. the lights kept dimming and going nuts. well long story short i got a nice new motorcraft silver battery with 2 yr warranty for just over $50. Man the difference is amazing with how much better the accessories work and less dimming. That optima was such a POS I will never buy again.
that sounds like your alternator is wack. its possible that the regulator and all that is fubar. the battery isnt supposed to die if you drive the car around, thats what the alternator is for. perhaps try to see if autozone will do one of those deep cycle charges on it to see if the battery is heavily sulfated. your lights shouldnt be dimming if the car is on. you might also check to see if you have heavy corrosion anywhere, or make sure the cables are in good condition. bad connection = no charge either. basically the alternator regulates itself by sensing the amount of resistance is in the line. a full battery has high resistance, so the alternator will produce less power. however, a dead/hevily sulfated battery also has high resistance, and you end up with the same thing.
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is autocraft any good? i've never heard of it...i used to have an exide orbital in my pathfinder that i got from kragens which worked like a champ! that thing was a beast, i'll put that in when my stock dies...
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From: NV
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^see, thats what i thought. the autocraft is advance autos battery line. for $55 and a 2 yr warranty, thats pretty sweet. i'm still gonna get a charging system check just for fun tomorrow.
Originally Posted by gearbox
^see, thats what i thought. the autocraft is advance autos battery line. for $55 and a 2 yr warranty, thats pretty sweet. i'm still gonna get a charging system check just for fun tomorrow.
dont forget to make them charge your battery if you still have it. autozone does it for free. kragen might charge you. but im not sure.
Yeah, after the craze for these batteries a few years ago on these forums, a few months later I got the impression that people seemed to start having problems w/ them to the point where the general consensus was that they sucked...
:knock on wood:. 
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From: ARIZONA
Rep Power: 449 ive had an Optima battery in the car for last 15 months...
it starts up on the first crank every time and doesnt even hesitate
(even after i had the car sitting in storage for 6 weeks...cranked right over on the first turn)
it starts up on the first crank every time and doesnt even hesitate
(even after i had the car sitting in storage for 6 weeks...cranked right over on the first turn)
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From: Lost Angels
Rep Power: 302 Odd.... My truck always ate batteries because I don't use it much. Sometimes it sits over 2 months before I turn it over. I have an optima in it for almost 6 years now, and it always starts. I even killed it several times by leaving something on. I mean COMPLETELY dead. Put a charger on it for a bit and all is good. I also have an optima in the accord and the civic. No problems at all in 2 years for the accord and almost 4 in the civic.
Could it be just the luck of the draw??
I once bought the most expensive DieHard gold, 100month battery from Sears.
The battery died without any warning while I was out at lunch 4 months later.
BAM. Just dead. No warning. It just shows that brand and cost don't really matter. What I DO like about the optima is that it is a totally sealed battery and will never grow a white fuzz all over the terminals, nor corrode the battery tray. So that's a big plus for me at least.
Ultimately there are Optimas out there running fine for 18 years, as well as some conventional batteries lasting over 10!! This is an exception, of course, but then again any battery can just die without notice.
Luck of the draw.
Could it be just the luck of the draw??
I once bought the most expensive DieHard gold, 100month battery from Sears.
The battery died without any warning while I was out at lunch 4 months later.
BAM. Just dead. No warning. It just shows that brand and cost don't really matter. What I DO like about the optima is that it is a totally sealed battery and will never grow a white fuzz all over the terminals, nor corrode the battery tray. So that's a big plus for me at least.
Ultimately there are Optimas out there running fine for 18 years, as well as some conventional batteries lasting over 10!! This is an exception, of course, but then again any battery can just die without notice.
Luck of the draw.
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Rep Power: 286 some of you guys dont understand.. read up on deep cycle batteries and youll find that completely draining them is ok, and will not ruin them. that's what theyre made for
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question219.htm
http://auto.howstuffworks.com/question219.htm
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 ya but it shouldnt be draining by itself lol. well ya tinman is right, not every battery is the same obviously, maybe the optima might have lasted longer if i got a different one. and i've never heard of white fuzz and corrosion, heck i dont even have a battery tray cause it wouldnt fit. i had the stock battery 3 yrs and actually it didnt even die it was just a lil below the usual volts cause it was drained a few times. i just wanted the optima and so swapped it in. optima lasted a year, now i have the autocraft. if it lasts 2 yrs i'll be happy for $50.
Originally Posted by cj2185
i've had the stock battery for over 4 years now, aftermarket headunit, stock speakers.
itll probably need changing in a year or two.. mine needed some water as the waterlevels were pretty different in each part... and the little indicator was black. it then went to red/blue after i put water in it.
well on the factory honda one.. it says "maintenance free" ... but if you peel it off.. you will notice that its perforated right at the right place. and voila... you see all the covers where you add the distilled water...
this doesnt apply to optimas though.. only regular batteries.
this doesnt apply to optimas though.. only regular batteries.
thats odd...ive couldve sworn that optimas were the best for our cars. i was about to get one once my stock battery dies. after reading this thread, i might reconsider.
any suggestions?
any suggestions?
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From: Jacksonville, Fl
Rep Power: 374 optimas are spiral cell which means they dont have traditional fluid, hence they can vibrate and be mounted any way; you cant add water to them.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 i thought that if it says maintenance free youre not supposed to add anything cause its a different battery. man theres so much i didnt know about batteries. did you know that if you dont drive at least 20 miles your battery never gets fully charged after starting it? and 2 weeks is the longest you can let it sit without running the risk that it wont start the car. then you gotta drive it on the highway 20 mins to bring it back to normal. and heat kills batteries alot faster.
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From: Lost Angels
Rep Power: 302 Maintenace Free batteries just have a better vapor recovery system. They STILL do outgas, though. It just takes longer. Usually the battery does not last long enough to have to add DISTILLED water to it, but no wet-cell battery is "Maintenace Free". The water must NEVER get below the level where the plates are exposed, so when the indictor (just a hygrometer) turns CLEAR, it's too low on water. It won't hurt to check once in a while.
The Optima does not use "wet" or liquid electrolyte. It uses a gel. That's why it is totally maintenance free. It too, however, will eventually dry out and fail.
Note the tiny little vent hole on the Optima as well.
The Optima is still a lead-acid battery, though constructed to be spill-proof and VERY rugged. It was originally designed for the military. You can shoot a bullet through it, and it keeps working. It STILL won't leak, either.
In those respects it's a far superior battery, but as in anything, failures happen.
The Optima does not use "wet" or liquid electrolyte. It uses a gel. That's why it is totally maintenance free. It too, however, will eventually dry out and fail.
Note the tiny little vent hole on the Optima as well.
The Optima is still a lead-acid battery, though constructed to be spill-proof and VERY rugged. It was originally designed for the military. You can shoot a bullet through it, and it keeps working. It STILL won't leak, either.
In those respects it's a far superior battery, but as in anything, failures happen.
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From: NV
Rep Power: 812 where do you open it, or even check the levels? mine just has a cover with some warnings all over. do you pull off the covers?
yep just pop the covers off. and you should see holes where you can pour distilled water in. some batteries have translucent cases where you can shine a light on one side and you can see the acid levels.
