Pintoblades

Anyone know if you can charge the Red top Optima batter while it's still hooked up to the car? Or, does doing so cause any electrical problems in the car's brain center?
I got my shocks on and wanted to test drive it...but, Wallah....battery seems to be almost dead. A few lights but clicking starter. Ugh

Vetteman Jack

I always kept my Optima Red Top on a Battery Tender Plus when I had one. No problems at all. As far as hooking up a regular battery charger, here is an article I ran across by putting Optima Red Top in Google:

[ulr]http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2009/12/product-review-optima-batteries/[/url]

Pintoblades

Thanks Jack! I guess I must of left something on, hood was up for hours but the light usually turns itself off after a few minutes. Not sure if I accidentally drained it or it just going bad. But, it needs charging for sure. I'll check out the link.

Pintoblades

Interesting link jack. Looks like the Limo driver found the yellow top more to his liking.

I found this little clue by Google ----> Another Forum: It might of been what happened to my charge when I left the hood up and a jack under one of the corners over night.
Heres what the member wrote:

My vette also has a phantom drain so, I put a quick disconnect and a onboard charger. I read on some threads that C5 and C6s have a issue w/ the under the hood lights tend to stay on if the car is parked tilted so the mercury switch trips the lights. Also the radio clock tends to suck juice slowly. My cheapo 5 yearbattery is 6 years old

Pintoblades

Well, I got it charging while in the car... Charger needle is still sitting at 12amps. I'm hoping the battery didn't fall below the critical voltage level that prevents the charger from continuing the charge. If so, I have to hook another charged battery in series with it to fool the charger into thinking it's above the critical level.
And as luck would have it....my voltage meter has a dead battery in it! So I don't know exactly how much of a charge was left in the Optima battery. Guess it's time to run to the store for a 9v battery so I can check voltages.

hoosiervette

Did the new shocks eliminate your clunking?

99 VET

I've had Optima Red Tops for many yrs & always use a CTEK 3300 yr round. You can unplug the underhood light...Good luck!

Pintoblades

Don't know yet, I left the car charging over night. The light was green this morning so I'll be test driving the new shocks very soon today. I'll definitely give an update it the clunk is gone.

Pintoblades

Thanks! I checked out the 3300 and looks like a nice little charger for the Optimas. I charged it up a bit last night with a regular car charger and then before going to bed, I put on my Batter Tender model left over from my Harley on it. This morning the light is green, so I hope she's good now for a while. However, I think I'll continue using the the little trickle chargers to keep it fresh. I'll pick up a CTEK soon!

photonhunter

It's not amps, it's volts, and a charger must have a greater voltage than the battery it is charging. If not, the current flows the other way from the car battery to the charger.

dan k.

Pintoblades

Ahhh thanks for the tip, my regular car charger just shows the amps it's pushing..starting at 15 amps for a discharged battery...then ending up at 0 amps for a finished charge. Not sure why they show amps on the dial instead of volts. But it looks all good this morning.

OptimaJim

Not necessarily true. Most of the chargers I'm familiar with show amps, not volts (our units show both). When batteries are more deeply-discharged, they will tend to charge at a higher amperage rate, gradually tapering down, until the battery is fully-recharged.

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

Pintoblades

Yup...that's what my charger does....amps go down the more it charges.
Maybe one day I'll have a charger that shows both.
Good to know we have an Optima member on here! Thanks for chiming in. Battery is good to go this morning.

Camjamsdad

Declining amps is what 2 of my chargers show. Start out high then gradually drop to zero. The maintainer just has 3 lights. Green: charged. Yellow: trickle charging/maintaining. Red: full on charge mode.

ZFLASH

I have a Red one in the Vette and a Yellow one in my '55 Ford p/u, use a Cetek charger on both without any problems. L8R ZFLASH

jrose7004

I have charged my Red Top in the car with no problems.

Pintoblades

Thanks, yeah I went ahead and tried it...it did fine. Also set up a Battery tender to plug into at night. Should keep it nice and fresh.

oldschoolvette

x2

Pintoblades

Update: Yes! The shocks eliminated the rattling noise! I was so relieved to drive it down a bumpy road and hear........NOTHING! haha Life is much better now.

hoosiervette

Great news. Years ago I had a van that sounded the same way and it turned out to be the shocks. Now you can drive it to relieve stress instead of creating it.