Well guys, I have killed 3 Red Top Optima Batteries since Aug 1998. In Aug 1998, I bought a Red Top for my 84 Vette. Thought they were new hi tech batteries and should last. (later realized only had a one year warranty) Found this out about 2 months ago when this one died on me and would not take a charge. Bought another Red Top and installed in my 84. Yesterday my car would not start. I had not driven it for about 2 1/2 weeks, but battery was completely dead (2 month old battery) and would not take a charge. I had bougth this battery at Costco. Could not find the receipt, but called Costco, they said no problem bring it back. A plus for Costco, no pro rate, they gave me my money back in full, no pro rate. The battery from Costco has a 60 month warranty. Why the difference, I don't know. In Oct 99, I bought a Red Top for my 86 Vette. Had not driven it for about 3 weeks, yesterday it was dead too! Two dead batteries on the same day, but it too would not take a charge. Only putting out about 8-9 volts, so something has crapped out on this battery too. $100.00 battery with a lifespan of about 3 years is not good to me. That is about the same as you get from a $35-55 battery at Walmart, so I think no more Optima $100.00 Batteries for me. Thanks for the opportunity to Vent. Don't want anyone else to get burned with this $100.00 battery rip off.

 

The company that I used to work for used 100s of car batterys to power electronic meters in the field. They started using the Gel Cell batteries so that at any location the battery could be mounted either on its side or normally, depending on the situation. Now I haven't fooled with them in a few years but back then the gel cells only had a one year warranty where the regular car batterys had much longer. On the ones that we used we found that the lifespan of a gell cell compared to a conventional car battery was much less. I don't know why but they didn't last as long.

 

The Optima battery is a lead acid battery with a gel instead of a liquid acid and the Optima uses a spiral of lead instead of a rectangular thin sheet of a grid of lead like the typical car battery. I guess because of the advertising hype and the $140 sugg retail, many people think that this is a superior battery. NOT!!
Consumer Report for October tested many car batteries and only gave the Optima battery a good rating when there were regular batteries costing 1/2 the Optima rated excellent. Many CFers pee in their pants and tremble when they talk about their Optima batteries, but those of us with experience with gel cell lead acid batteries know different.
It does sound like you have a car off drain current problem and I would look into it. Flooded cell batteries don't fair much better under this condition but they can usually be charged back up.

 

Just replaced the top excide 840 battery with a ac delco platinum battery,excide wouldn't start my 89 roadster in the Phoenix heat (13 months old) new ac delco is a 7 year battery (lol) but has a 3 year free replacement, it starts th car when its hot where the excide didn't, girlfriend works for G.M. and my cost was $78, G.M. battery for an 89 corvette is a 75p7 platinum battery, you might want to truy this.

:jester :jester :jester :jester :jester

 

Used to work retail, there were people who wanted to lay out extra $ for a battery, even when CCA output was lower, and the warranty was shorter, because it had a flashy name, or interesting design. Truth was it was all hype- and no substance. (There's a WHOLE LOT more of that in retail that you could imagine). Those customers came back puzzled "I SPENT OVER A HUNDRED BUCK ON THIS BATTERY! i COULDA BOUGHT THREE OF THOSE OTHERONES FOR THE SAME MONEY!" I'd tell them that the BIG difference was that if they had spent the $35 on "THAT OTHERONE" they would still have a working battery. ;) -John

 

sorry to hear these complaints about your batteries guys, just wanted to post my luck with mine....i have had the same red top in my chevy truck for 5 yes thats five years and have had NO problems....i ran this battery dead 3 or 4 times leaving the lights on at work for 8 hours and i had a jumpstart, by the time i got home, the battery was charged up and ready to go the next morning. and like i said this has happened multiple times.....and it is still cranking. so far so good with the one in the vette; hype or no hype, i like the fact that i can mount it anywhere even on their side (did this in a mini truck for a custom stereo install) and the fact that these batteries DO NOT CORRODE I just love that!!!!!

 

I'm using a red-top in my 96 and so far it's going strong after 2 years... I look at things other than just the hype when deciding on a purchase and decided to try the Optima battery based on the reviews I've seen for them on cars equipped with high powered stereo systems...

I decided to try something other than a conventional design battery because of the bad luck I've had with them in the past... In 2 years I went through 3 Delco batteries, with one of them only lasting a few weeks before needing replacement... If I do buy a conventional battery I'll either go with a Delco or an Interstate brand... I've never had luck with those off the shelf "bargain" batteries (Kragen, Autozone, Pepboys, etc), it seems that you rent rather than buy them...

The Optima site doesn't have any warranty info on it, but I found this at DC Battery for the Optima Red-Top... http://www.dcbattery.com/optima_red.html

It shows the red-top having a 6 year warranty for normal non-commercial, non-audio competition applications... 24 month - free, 25 to 72 months - prorated... You might want to take that up with the place that sold you the battery...

 

Thanks guys, I told the place I bought them, that the same battery at Costco had a 60 month warranty, but they insisted the batteries they sold only had a one year warranty

 

Hmm. I have a yellow top. I knew I needed a deep cycle battery because my car eats batteries. It's drained completely dead right now. I have yet to put it on a charger...

 

When I finished building my bracket 1966 Mustang the compression was so high that I was killing Die Hards within a couple months each. After I killed three of them I switched to the Optima red top, and the thing was perfect for me. The car would start even after sitting for a couple months at a time, and the battery never died going on three years now. Say what you will, but with 11.5:1 compression it was the perfect battery for my application.

Sam

 

I'd certainly hookup a DVM in series with the battery and check for a drain. For what it's worth, I overheard a guy at Poop Boys yesterday complaining of the same problems with an Optima. The counter guy was swearing up and down that the car must have a drain somewhere, but the customer insisted that he checked it and finally got his bucks back.

 

Sorry to hear that. I've always gone with DieHard batteries and have always had luck with them. Just my .02. :flag

 

Found out an interesting fact the other day. Interstate does not manufacture batteries. It is a battery distribution company. The batteries are manufactured by Johnson Controls, who also make batteries for, are you ready.....AutoZone, Sears, Wal-Mart and Costco. There are only a handful of companies making batteries any more with Delco and Exide for sure. This will definitely make me think twice about where I buy my next battery.

:seeya

 

I have the Optima in my vette and the Exide Orbital in my truck and the wifes Blazer. No way will I ever go back to dripping lead acid batteries :yesnod:

 

Just replaced Delco OEM in 94 with Sears Diehard Gold, perfect fit, $79.00. Priced Delco replacement at two GM dealers and got two different quotes, $94.00 at one and #101.00 at the other. Diehard has considerably more CCA than Delco at same physical size and w/7 year warranty w/3 year free replacement. I have enough confidence now to turn off engine and listen to radio, hope i'm not disapointed down the road. :chevy

 

That's interesting info... I haven't owned an Interstate battery for about 12 years now... I remember that they "were" reliable back then...

They may still be though, from what I understand the Interstate is a NEW battery, where the chain store brands are usually remanufactured... That may make the most difference IMO...

Jim

 

You all should consider putting a float charger on your car when not in use. I leave mine plugged in in the garage and when I pull in I just attach it to the car and know that the battery will be fully charged when I return. The main concern I have is the weakness of the alternator. We all know they are not the strongest part of a Corvette. By using a float charger you minimize the work the alternator needs to do. The float charger is very different from a trickle charger. The float charger completely stops charging when the battery is full. It will not cook the battery like a trickle charger can. Mine came with a cord with a polarized plug on it. I attached the terminals to the battery and ran the cord up near the wiper arm and leave the plug lay in the area near the wiper arm when driving around. That way when I pull in I don't have to open the hood to hook up the charger, just plug it in. I loop the cord over my rear view mirror so I don't forget and drive off with it connected.

 

My yellow top ate 2 float chargers...