Optima Batteries
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 1,347
Likes: 4
From: Slidell La
Drifting
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 1,565
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From: Mechanicsville VA
St. Jude Donor '08
From what I understand from posts here, it's not an uncommon problem. My son has been thru 3 "red tops". I just replaced mine this past weekend.Got 38 months out of it.Too much to be covered by the warranty.
Gene
Gene
Race Director
Joined: Jul 2007
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From: Reno is so close to Hell you can see Sparks , State Of Confusion
St. Jude Donor '12-'13-'14
No troubles with my Red Top, I have read that if you don't drive your car much you can have troubles, If your car sits all week one needs to put it on a battery tender of some type.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2005
Posts: 2,891
Likes: 4
From: North Port Fl
Red Tops do not do well in a C5 that is not a DD. I know, I had one, and had problems. I bought a battery tender and everything was fine until during winter storage the cord for the battery tender became unplugged for a few months. The battery was not able to recover and it was past the 3 years so I'm on my 3rd battery on my 2004 with less than 11k miles. I bought a AC Delco 7 yr professional, it's much better suited for a C5 that's not a DD.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
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From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
Red Tops were popular a few years ago here when the early AC Delcos were leaking and causing damage. Those batteries are nearly all gone now so the issue has gone away.
The Red Top is an AGM battery and they don't like being discharged. If they are looked after properly they'll give good service. The 01 to 03 AC Delcos were also the AGM type and have similar characteristics.
Is the car a DD? If not you should be thinking about getting a battery tender. The other thing to check is whether you have a drain. The seat switches are notorious for sticking and draining the battery.
The good news is AGM batteries don't leak.
The Red Top is an AGM battery and they don't like being discharged. If they are looked after properly they'll give good service. The 01 to 03 AC Delcos were also the AGM type and have similar characteristics.
Is the car a DD? If not you should be thinking about getting a battery tender. The other thing to check is whether you have a drain. The seat switches are notorious for sticking and draining the battery.
The good news is AGM batteries don't leak.
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Pro
Joined: Apr 2007
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Likes: 0
I have to agree
with DeeGee as I am on my 3rd and soon my 4th red top.. this is 9 years of great service but allowing the bat to discharge is a killer. Once ok but twice and it is time to replace. It appears to me that after that they wont hold a charge. I get alot of codes as the bat declines abs is very sensitive to voltage changes column lock,, yadayada.
Gotta have juice or no go new red top this week a great battery for $100
with DeeGee as I am on my 3rd and soon my 4th red top.. this is 9 years of great service but allowing the bat to discharge is a killer. Once ok but twice and it is time to replace. It appears to me that after that they wont hold a charge. I get alot of codes as the bat declines abs is very sensitive to voltage changes column lock,, yadayada.Gotta have juice or no go new red top this week a great battery for $100
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 112
Likes: 38
From: Central Fl
I drive my 2001 3 or 4 times a week at the most. I made an earlier post that described my red top problems. I went thru 2 in three months and Auto Zone called Optima. Optima told them that they DO NOT recommend the Red Top (75-25), only the yellow top (D75-25) for Corvettes. I routinely showed a 1214 code upon start up because the red top voltage dipped below 10vdc.
The good news is that my problems are gone and Auto Zone gave me a price break on the D75-25 to match what I paid for the (75-25) plus a $25 rebate on top of that.
Bottom line is that battery selection is often left to the LxWxH of the battery not the electrical requirements of the vehicle.
/Ken
The good news is that my problems are gone and Auto Zone gave me a price break on the D75-25 to match what I paid for the (75-25) plus a $25 rebate on top of that.
Bottom line is that battery selection is often left to the LxWxH of the battery not the electrical requirements of the vehicle.
/Ken
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St. Jude Donor '03 thru '26
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I had one in my '00 for over 6 years and it was still going strong when I sold the car. But, the car was not a DD and I did keep it on a battery tender when it was parked.
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,576
Likes: 11
From: Negley Ohio
I bought one 3 years ago. I only put around 3400 miles on the 01. Never took it out of the car during winter months, never put a battery tender on it and it started up every time. I think they have good ones and bad ones.....
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 925
Likes: 4
From: EXTON PA
Battery is good for most cars but discharge and battery life have drops below the level of 12 on a regular basis that can occur when stored will kill these batteries. Brought mine at Sam's and there policy replaces a battery within 3 years no costs and pro rates after 36 months so I have benn covered for two battery exchanges with no out of pockit costs but it is what it is a pain in the a--.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 19,459
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From: Schaumburg IL
CI 7-8-9-11 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
To the OP, sorry for your troubles. There have been countless threads on this CRAP excuse for a battery. There have been plenty that failed without the excuse that it was drained all the way as well.
Optima Batteries SUCK, end of story. There are a few here that have had good luck with them, and that is all it is, good luck. I am sure you will see more posts that say they have had no problems with them.
Get an excide orbital , they are not cheap but are excellent batteries. I have one, and personally know of about 8 other people that run them in their vettes and no problems.
FWIW, my orignal Delco GM battery lasted 6 years and was still going strong when I replaced it.
Optima Batteries SUCK, end of story. There are a few here that have had good luck with them, and that is all it is, good luck. I am sure you will see more posts that say they have had no problems with them.
Get an excide orbital , they are not cheap but are excellent batteries. I have one, and personally know of about 8 other people that run them in their vettes and no problems.
FWIW, my orignal Delco GM battery lasted 6 years and was still going strong when I replaced it.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2007
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From: Dow IL
St. Jude Donor '10
Melting Slicks
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 2,786
Likes: 7
From: Iowa
I've got a yellow top in the Vette and a blue top in my other car. blue is for marine use but its still a 12V deep cycle and the terminal configuration on that one was perfect for the car and accessories. I have had no trouble with the yellow top having it in the car for about 2.5 years. the blue top however I'm on my 3rd one now. first one went out while the car was at the shop, they had it for a while and drained it. I thought deep cycle could handle a train, but maybe not. that one shorted internally and got very hot when charged. not good! the second one just failed to maintain a charge but it lasted several years, now on my third and something is up with it also, not pleased. it starts just fine, but doesn't hold a charge the way it should. the care rarely fails to start, but it struggles when it shouldn't be. I drove it for over an hour then it sat for 4-5, I ran the headlights off batteries for about 5 minutes or so. when I went to restart it labored to start. it did start, but it should have started right up with no issues.
Drifting
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 1,643
Likes: 167
Any battery that requires the maintenance Optimas do (needing to put a battery tender on it if not driven for a week) is not a battery I want to mess with. There are plenty of better (and less expensive) batteries to choose from. Why go through the trouble with an Optima?
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 10,554
Likes: 33
From: Not on either liberal coast.
It wasn't his OPTIMA batteries after all. They weren't being undercharged, they were being overcharged.
Way to think outside the box for other possibilities...
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...a-battery.html
Way to think outside the box for other possibilities...
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c5-g...a-battery.html
Last edited by hotwheels57; Aug 9, 2009 at 06:15 PM.