Hello, I saw your conversation regarding parasitic drains and I’m glad there is so much good information and advice about battery maintenance. riccko’s comment about a battery tender/maintainer being the best investment you can make for your vehicle’s electrical system is particularly outstanding. A good battery tender or maintainer will help extend the life of your battery, regardless of brand.

SDLong329, this video explains how to check for a parasitic drain- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yPlx4MBNRU

While no battery likes to be discharged, AGM batteries like Optimas are more resilient to long periods of non-use than traditional flooded batteries. They also have the added advantage of being sealed, which is especially important for any vehicle that has sensitive electronic equipment located below the battery tray. Most of the “bad” batteries returned to us are just deeply-discharged and work fine when properly recharged. This video explains how to properly recharge a deeply-discharge AGM battery- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIoaL3DWWEg

If you have any battery-related questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

 

I have an optima yellow top (marine battery) ... can be drained empty and fully recharged again over and over.

 

Good post Jim and thanks for the video link. Wish I'd had that before I ditched my Red Top. I tried a few times but I guess I used the wrong technique. My Yellow Top is on a tender.

I'm surprised at your remark about AGMs being more resilient to longer periods dormant. Thats not the experience here I'd say. Can you explain why?

 

not certain i agree totally with this. last summer i had major back surgery and wasn't able to climb into and drive my 04 CE convertible for about 5 weeks. it just sat in my garage on my qwik-lift (no battery tender, etc). figured when i was finally able to give it a shot (at driving it once again) it would probably require at least a battery jump. what a surprise i go when i got in, turned the key and it started right up. oh, and did i mention it still has the OEM battery??

can't sell me on battery problems in corvettes (for what it is worth, i haven't ever had a problem with any of my previous or current (still have a 78 pace car that is one of the seldom driven class)). maybe i'm just lucky, but i don't really think so.

 

DeeGee, the lead in our batteries is 99.99% pure and our grid material is more resistant to grid degradation (a type of internal corrosion that affects the plates inside a battery as it ages). Some of the alloys and recycled lead used in conventional batteries are more prone to electron transfer, resulting in higher self-discharge rates. An Optima battery will hold it’s voltage longer than conventional batteries and the sealed design also prevents water loss, which can lead to plate dry-out and failure.

Maintaining a voltage level of at least 12.4 volts will help extend battery life. That is why battery tenders and maintainers are so beneficial for vehicles that are not driven daily. If you have any other questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

 

With all due respect Jim, I have to tell you, if what Ive read in many many battery threads over the years here and elsewhere, you can say a lot of good things about Optimas but that they "hold a charge longer than conventional batteries" probably isnt one of them.

Im sure there are technical reasons why they should (or do in a lab test) but thats not what seems to be stated when it periodicaly comes up. So either the subject of this post "vettes eating batteries" is valid and thats the problem or its invalid and the red tops loose it on their own. Im leaning towards the former.

Ive had a lot of cars over the years, all had conventional batteries, none were kept on a tender, and aside from stupidity (that would be me leaving a dome light on or a door open) None of them required a jump till the end of thier service life. And many sat for extended periods of time.

My vette has a red top, I keep it on a tender.

 

Hi Jistari, I understand what you’re saying about comments made on message boards, as I also spend a lot of time reading a lot of different boards. However, as lh4x4’s conversation with a Corvette Engineer indicated, the electrical demands of newer cars are significantly different than those built even ten years ago.

It is very easy to test how well a battery does or does not hold a charge. Charge the battery, apply a load to remove the surface charge or just let the battery rest for 24-48 hours, to allow the surface charge to dissipate on it’s own. Leave the battery disconnected from anything and monitor the voltage over time. If you do this with an Optima battery compared to most other batteries on the market, the Optima will maintain it’s voltage longer.

We don’t buy batteries to leave them on a shelf, we buy them to put in our vehicles. Because of it’s design and high-purity lead, an Optima battery has lower internal resistance. Low internal resistance means the battery can supply more current at a given voltage, which means the battery will supply more power for a longer period of time. Simply stated, it will run your stuff longer.

The problem is, if a battery is left alone too long will, it will get deeply-discharged and because an Optima has better performance in some ways, it is easier to deeply-discharge. There are plenty of people who mistakenly believe that a deeply-discharged Optima can’t be charged. We’ve all read the posts and heard the stories. One of the most important messages Optima is trying to get out is that a deeply-discharged Optima battery can be charged with what most people have in their garage. This only treats the symptom. Preventing the battery from getting deeply-discharged is the cure.

XM radio, OnStar, ipods, cell phones, GPS systems, LoJack, DVD players and huge stereos are all fantastic gadgets that many of us enjoy, but they all increase the demands on electrical systems already wired with a multitude of computer-controlled engine and suspension management functions. As a result, even if someone considers their Vette to be a “daily driver,” if their commute doesn’t allow their alternator to maintain their battery’s state of charge, they will be slowly discharged over time and battery life will be shortened as a result.

Corvettes are not unique in that regard. A good friend of mine sells BMWs in Houston and whenever our conversations turn to the subject of batteries, he almost always blurts out, “You have to drive a new BMW for at least 20 minutes to replace the energy used to start it.” I am glad to hear your RedTop is on a tender, as that will help extend battery life.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries

 

So in regards to charging a battery after a start would an under drive pulley be a bad thing?

 

The two lessons that I've learned from reading anecdotal horror stories about batteries is:
1. Don't confuse me with facts, ,my mind is made up.
2. No matter how well a product is designed and built, some enterprising individual will come along and find a way to use it in a manner never intended by the manufacturer, and then swear that it is/was defective.

I'll say it one more time: A battery designed for automotive starting service was never meant to be completely discharged and, as OptimaJim pointed out, must be recharged to 14.2-volts after nearly all partial discharges in order to function properly over its normal service life.

As my pappy used to say, how are we going to teach people to think logically when we insist that the sun is rising (or setting) rather than the horizon doing the moving.

 

Wow. Thats amazing. In Florida you are lucky to get 2 years out of a battery because the intense heat destroys them.

 

Original GM battery in my 01 Coupe (delivered May 2001) ... with 17K on the odometer ... and Battery Tender. Without the B/T ... the battery can be temper-mental (95% temper, 5% mental).

 

I can let my Ford Truck parked for two months and turn the key and it starts right up.