I have an Optima Red Top that is 8-10 years old in my 63. The problem is when I have been driving it for sometime at usual operating temps and shut it off or stall it, it is often difficult to re-start. When I turn the key on the starter barely turns over. If I let it set 5-30 mins, or overnight, it will start right back up at the normal speed of the starter. I paired the battery with a CTec charger/tender when new and leave it on the charger when not being driven. The first time this situation appeared was a couple of years ago when I was on a road trip. I didn't have it on a charger then but the symptoms were identical and I didn't have a recurrence during the rest of the trip. I just started it up last week after a 4 month rest and it started up normally. The battery gauge shows a slight to the + side when running. I have a gauge that I plug into my lighter receptacle and it shows me the voltage in the system. When idling it show 13.5 V, Motor off it shows 13V . When starting it pulls down to about 8V. Soooo, I believe the labored cranking to be more related to the battery than the starter. What do you think is the best place to start the investigation? Thanks-lib

 

I'd put a regular battery in and see if that doesn't resolve the problem. I bet it starts fine.

 

Sounds like a starter problem to me. Back in the day Chevy starters would develop a dead spot and you would reach under the car and smack it with a hammer to get it off the dead spot and it would start. Also hard to start when it would get hot. Probably easier to replace battery first, it has lived a long life, but it sure sounds like a bad starter.

 

I had that same problem on my Avanti with the SBC engine. Turned out to be heat soak on the starter solenoid. IThey make a wrap for the starter to insulate it and that solved the problem.

 

This^^^. With an 8-10 year-old battery, the first step to take is to have the battery load tested. If the battery passes the test, you can move on to further diagnosis (heat soak, high resistance in the starter or starter wiring, etc.). But your number one step is to verify that the battery is still good.

 

Only happens when hot?
Clean the battery cables where the attach to the battery, male and female,
Have the battery tested as mentioned or just replace it. If battery is good and problem persists:

Check the battery ground at the starter, and battery HOT to solenoid connection.
If problem persist, you either need to replace the battery cable(s) internally, or there is a starter/solenoid issue.

When i first got the '72, it would slooow crank when hot. Very slow.
I cleaned and tightened all the cable connections, especially the ground cable to starter connection,a nd the problem disappeared.

At ten years old, i would replace the battery regardless.

Doug

 

Does the battery need to be removed from the car to have it tested? If it does need to be removed I will just replace the battery while I have it out. Thanks for all the responses on the issue- lib
PS: I don't know for sure what a "regular" battery is, but I do know the one that was in prior to the Optima wasn't a sealed battery and it was a PIA to remove without the battery fluid leaking out and making a toxic mess. That was when I decided to go with the Red Top and I haven't regretted my decision .......

 

I pulled the battery out this week-end and took it to my FLAP for testing. I went to Auto Zone and they pulled out what appeared to be a portable battery jumper and hooked up the cables to my battery. It had an LED readout on the machine that gave them all the info they needed to make a decision in 5 seconds. The lady looked me in the eye and said "This battery is no good. It needs to be replaced." As it is nearly 10 years old I didn't argue with her but I did ask if they did something like a "bench test" that could perhaps give us a bit more knowledge of the condition. No, she told me, and they didn't have that battery in stock. I told her I wanted one that day and if I couldn't locate one in town I'd have her order one for me this week. I thanked her for her time and when I was heading for the door she said she would buy my battery for $10 today. I declined the offer and went to an O"Reilly parts store. I brought the battery inside, asked if they could test it. They took it in the back and hooked it up to their test equipment and said the battery is OK. They said they could test it more if I would leave it there for about 90 mins on their machine. I said sure, left, and returned there later. When I returned the guy who was doing the testing wasn't there but he'd put a sticky note on the battery that said "Good". However, they did have a Red Top in stock and charged up so I bought it. The price was the same but they gave me an $18 core credit. I don't know yet if I solved the problem, yet, but there was no way I was going to re-install my old battery. It isn't that much of a fun task! Stay tuned for further developments........