Another Red Top bites the dust.
Thread Starter
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 1999
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From: Green and Wet Western Oregon
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Another Red Top bites the dust.
We have had an Optima Red Top in our 2000 for about four years without a drop of trouble..........until last night.
We had the car in the shop last fall for some paint work and when we picked it up they said that they had run the battery down. So I took it home and hooked up the battery tender. Since then the key fob would not hold a "sync" for more than an hour. I replaced the fob batteries hoping for the best, but in reality I knew the Red Top was toast. These batteries just do not like to be run completely down.
So, last night I want to get the car ready for our club's first organized run of the Spring. Open the hood to remove the battery tender and it's showing partial charge after being on the car for over a month. Well, crap. Call Sears - did you know that Sears no longer carries Optima? Too many being returned. Well, duh! So I have a brand new Die Hard Platinum and the first cruise of the year was a huge success. Good day in my book.
We had the car in the shop last fall for some paint work and when we picked it up they said that they had run the battery down. So I took it home and hooked up the battery tender. Since then the key fob would not hold a "sync" for more than an hour. I replaced the fob batteries hoping for the best, but in reality I knew the Red Top was toast. These batteries just do not like to be run completely down.
So, last night I want to get the car ready for our club's first organized run of the Spring. Open the hood to remove the battery tender and it's showing partial charge after being on the car for over a month. Well, crap. Call Sears - did you know that Sears no longer carries Optima? Too many being returned. Well, duh! So I have a brand new Die Hard Platinum and the first cruise of the year was a huge success. Good day in my book.
Last edited by duckvett; Mar 20, 2010 at 11:06 PM. Reason: spelling
Safety Car
Joined: Oct 2007
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From: You know your drunk when you swerve to miss the tree then you realize its your air freshener! Covington Ga
Mine did the same thing. I took it to AutoZone where I bought it and they gave me a new one no questions asked
Safety Car
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: This is not a Song, It's an Outburst: Or, The Establishment Blues; Sixto Diaz Rodriguez
Glad you got your's straight and had a nice cruise 
. Last August I noticed my RedTop had a small leak from the + side post, brought the Vette back to Advanced Auto, showed them, and they changed out a new one, (free), the leaking RT was 2 years old. So far so good, hoping this one does not leak.
. Last August I noticed my RedTop had a small leak from the + side post, brought the Vette back to Advanced Auto, showed them, and they changed out a new one, (free), the leaking RT was 2 years old. So far so good, hoping this one does not leak.
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2001
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From: Camelot of the Mid West
Burning Brakes
Joined: Nov 2005
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From: "Man been singin' the Blues, since he began to till the ground"...Vancouver, USA WA.
My stock Delco lasted 7 yrs. ('00 coupe) I've had a "RT" now for 3 yrs. It once went dead after 10 days of not driving, since then, I feel it can't be trusted. Never again. JOE
Burning Brakes
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 1,163
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From: Concord California
That is funny, I have one vehicle with Optima Red tops and they are going strong, in a RAM 1500 1997. The Optima are designed so well with spiral cells that give more cranking per volume, plus it is gel so no leaks, on a 4X4 the best battery to get bar none. I am going to get one for my C5 1999 Vette, due to possibility of leaks over the main wire harness under the stock batt. location. Could be the new owner that purchased Optima, maybe quality may have slipped a tad.. Well off to Costco to get one. Enjoy the ride.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 19,384
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From: Horncastle Lincolnshire, England
2023 C5 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
The Red Tops just don't like being discharged. They really aren't very good for Vettes that are not daily drivers. I guess the positive spin is it lasted 4 years and no leaks. Mind you, now I understand the reasons for the original leaky Delcos I may be less inclined to spend so much on a battery.
I invested in a Yellow Top which is much more tolerant and its still doing well after 3 years, although it should; its hooked up to a tender for a lot of the time.
I invested in a Yellow Top which is much more tolerant and its still doing well after 3 years, although it should; its hooked up to a tender for a lot of the time.
Team Owner
Joined: May 2001
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From: Dear Karma, I have a list of people you missed.
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16
That is funny, I have one vehicle with Optima Red tops and they are going strong, in a RAM 1500 1997. The Optima are designed so well with spiral cells that give more cranking per volume, plus it is gel so no leaks, on a 4X4 the best battery to get bar none. I am going to get one for my C5 1999 Vette, due to possibility of leaks over the main wire harness under the stock batt. location. Could be the new owner that purchased Optima, maybe quality may have slipped a tad.. Well off to Costco to get one. Enjoy the ride.
With deeply discharged RTs, depending on the charger being used, it may not recharge fully, if at all. Some chargers employ a feedback circuit and if it "sees" less than a certain voltage when hooked up, it will NOT begin charging that battery, RT or not. Just to be sure that is not happening on a deeply discharged RT, hook a second (charged) battery in parallel to the charger and RT and begin charging. The charger will read the higher voltage of the charged battery that is now in the circuit causing it to turn on and begin charging normally. When the measured voltage gets up high enough, you can remove the 2nd battery from the charging circuit and continue charging the RT up to it's capacity normally. Optima recommends ~1 Amp for maintenance charging (IIRC) 10-12 Amps for normal charging.
I have a feeling that too many deeply discharged RTs are getting discarded due to the charger being used not ever kicking in because it measures below a certain voltage (IIRC it's approx. 10.5V) at the beginning.
Btw, Optimas are NOT "gels".
Last edited by LoneStarFRC; Mar 21, 2010 at 05:19 AM.
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From: Fort Wayne IN
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I have three red tops. 8,7, and 3 years old. The 3 year old was a standby that I picked up for $35 at a year old, customer returned to AutoZone and it was fine. The older ones have played duty in two Trans Am's, and now one sits in the T/A and one in my Vette. In the Vette, I simply disconnect the battery if I know I"m not going to be using the car for a couple to few weeks (like over winter) and I hit it once a week with a trickle charge unless I've driven the car that week.
Race Director
Joined: Dec 2000
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From: San Diego CA
Today, there really is no reason to have to use an AGM, as leaking of acid is a thing of the past. The risk is so tiny that I can't see spending the extra money for an AGM. I expect my AC Delco Professional (7YR) to last at least 7 years.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Not on either liberal coast.
Currently, I have two OPTIMA batteries in personal vehicles...one being now six years old in a daily driver '02 Trailblazer. It's never needed to be on a float charger because it is a daily driver.
The other is now going on four years old in my '04 Z16. It's always on a float charger because it doesn't get driven in winter, and only on nice weekends in the spring/summer.
My personal experience with OPTIMA batteries was prior to them even being available to the general public, in a fleet car. OPTIMA gave them to us to use in our fleet in AZ summers. They gave them to a similar fleet to be used in CO winters. I know for certain none of ours in the AZ fleet failed because I followed the testing. I knew they worked under the rigors of our fleet testing, which convinced me to use them in our personal vehicles.
I've used six previous OPTIMA batteries, in both show cars and daily drivers. The oldest lasted me seven years. Two years after I sold the car, the new owner was still using the same battery.
I never had one fail...
The other is now going on four years old in my '04 Z16. It's always on a float charger because it doesn't get driven in winter, and only on nice weekends in the spring/summer.
My personal experience with OPTIMA batteries was prior to them even being available to the general public, in a fleet car. OPTIMA gave them to us to use in our fleet in AZ summers. They gave them to a similar fleet to be used in CO winters. I know for certain none of ours in the AZ fleet failed because I followed the testing. I knew they worked under the rigors of our fleet testing, which convinced me to use them in our personal vehicles.
I've used six previous OPTIMA batteries, in both show cars and daily drivers. The oldest lasted me seven years. Two years after I sold the car, the new owner was still using the same battery.
I never had one fail...
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2005
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From: St. Louis Missouri
At least you got 4yrs out of yours. Mine didn't make it a Full year. Took it back and had them replace it with an AC Delco Professional and I got Money back. AC Delco is now on it's 2nd year.
Former Vendor
Joined: Nov 2009
Posts: 279
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From: Glendale Wisconsin
Hi duckvett, I’m sorry to hear about the problems you had with your Redtop. LoneStarFRC is correct on all accounts regarding deeply-discharged batteries. Most of the “bad” batteries returned to us are just deeply-discharged and work fine, when properly recharged. Many battery chargers will not recognize any battery discharged below 10.5 volts and many flooded batteries cannot be recovered from such a state of discharge. The charging technique LoneStarFRC described is also explained in this video- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dIoaL3DWWEg
While no batteries like to be deeply-discharged, Optima batteries are more resilient to this type of use than typical flooded batteries. The key to long battery life, regardless of brand, is to maintain 12.4 volts at all times, whether through regular use or by using a battery tender or maintainer. If you have any other battery-related questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
While no batteries like to be deeply-discharged, Optima batteries are more resilient to this type of use than typical flooded batteries. The key to long battery life, regardless of brand, is to maintain 12.4 volts at all times, whether through regular use or by using a battery tender or maintainer. If you have any other battery-related questions, I’ll do my best to answer them.
Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.facebook.com/optimabatteries
Drifting
Joined: Dec 2004
Posts: 1,820
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From: San Diego
Funny how these keep being the battery of choice amongst the membership of this forum.
My horror story is terrible. I've experienced a RT battery BLOW UP! Yes, it was installed in a Jeep. We were out 4-wheeling, stopped for lunch, about 10 minutes into lunch there was this HUGE explosion. We looked at the jeeps and smoke was coming from under the hood of one of them. Opened the hood to find the battery had exploded! Wierd. What a mess. We had to tow the jeep 10 miles out of the wilderness. Ruined our day. Made a terrible mess of the guy's engine compartment.
I'm the lone wolf on this but I tell ya' Interstate batteries are excellent. They are expensive but are quite long lasting and very reliable.
..rickko..
PS. Read the fine print regarding the warranty before you buy your next Optima. You'll see how they recommend it be maintained to be covered under warranty. Generally shops ignore it but they do require stringent maintenance. IMO, Optimas are above average quality batteries but there are better batteries as well. I'm surprised more in this group don't seek them out. I suggest you find out what is the battery of choice used most in NASCARs race cars where money is no object and reliability is super important to winning races.
My horror story is terrible. I've experienced a RT battery BLOW UP! Yes, it was installed in a Jeep. We were out 4-wheeling, stopped for lunch, about 10 minutes into lunch there was this HUGE explosion. We looked at the jeeps and smoke was coming from under the hood of one of them. Opened the hood to find the battery had exploded! Wierd. What a mess. We had to tow the jeep 10 miles out of the wilderness. Ruined our day. Made a terrible mess of the guy's engine compartment.
I'm the lone wolf on this but I tell ya' Interstate batteries are excellent. They are expensive but are quite long lasting and very reliable.
..rickko..
PS. Read the fine print regarding the warranty before you buy your next Optima. You'll see how they recommend it be maintained to be covered under warranty. Generally shops ignore it but they do require stringent maintenance. IMO, Optimas are above average quality batteries but there are better batteries as well. I'm surprised more in this group don't seek them out. I suggest you find out what is the battery of choice used most in NASCARs race cars where money is no object and reliability is super important to winning races.
Race Director
Joined: Jun 2004
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From: Schaumburg IL
CI 7-8-9-11 Veteran
St. Jude Donor '06-'10, '13
Sorry to 
but Redtops are garbage. I have read through countless of these threads where they FAIL. And I have had 4 different friends with vettes and other cars have them die or problems with them. Seems like every time there is a problem with a battery, it's a Redtop.
What kind of battery dies if you let the car sit for 3 or 4 days?? Junk. I am surprised yours lasted 4 years
I've left different cars in the past sit for up to 2 weeks in the winter (Delco, Napa and Excide) and never had a problem starting them.
That's my opinion.
but Redtops are garbage. I have read through countless of these threads where they FAIL. And I have had 4 different friends with vettes and other cars have them die or problems with them. Seems like every time there is a problem with a battery, it's a Redtop.What kind of battery dies if you let the car sit for 3 or 4 days?? Junk. I am surprised yours lasted 4 years
I've left different cars in the past sit for up to 2 weeks in the winter (Delco, Napa and Excide) and never had a problem starting them.
That's my opinion.
