Optima batteries are ABSOLUTELY not worth the money!!!!

BTW, Red Top Optimas are the ONLY battery I've ever had last more than 2 years in my work trucks. The Vibration and heat would kill even a die hard after only 2 years. The Last Optima I had go bad on the truck was 10 yrs old, and it had a huge gash missing where it laid on the alternator fan.
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the car has always been charging that way. i'm going to call home and ask dad how the other 3 5.0's at home charge like. and we'll go from there. if they all are at 13.8 and this one is at 15. then i'm going to pursue something is going wrong with the charging.
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maybe voltage regulator? i just checked my '94 5.0 and got 13.7 @ idle, its a truck motor but should all be SSDD. only bad thing is the new style ford alt.'s are internally regulated like a GM, with the old ones you would just change the regulator and go, but now you will probaby have to replace the whole mess. hope ya get it worked out.
later
Dan

I had an alt go bad why back on my ext cab ranger and it was putting out 16 volts.... it sure made my 4 12" subs hit hard as hell with the 2 punch 200 amps... then my battery died shortly after, wierd electrical things use to happened when the bass was thumping, surprised nothing ever caught fire[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_lol.gif[/img]

I had two yellow tops in my truck. One for the truck, and the other for the stereo/video setup. Both worked great for a few years. They still work, I sold my truck, so I took out all the extra stuff. I never had a problem with either. I always drained the battery on the stereo side, and the truck always recharged it back up. But that's what deep cycle's are for though. I'm going to have to agree with everyone else and say you probably got a defectie battery, or possibly charging issues. Good luck with it.
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well just for kicks today i went to my 04 sport trac and read the voltage reading at idle and its at 14.5.

is that normal for a newer vehicle? i would assume so since he electronics on a newer vehicle are more power demanding and the number of more electronics.

let me know if something is possibly wrong iwth my sport trac.

also i went back out there and the mustang at fast idle (1250rpms or so) it reads 15volts at battery. when it idles down at little bit (800 neutral), it goes to about 14.84.

so that whole extra volt is damaging it? what do you think it could be? just the voltage regulator? i know i'll have to replace the whole alternator if so. please let me know whats up.
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Ok- BATTERY 101......
The Optima is an AGM type unit. That stands for
Absorbant Glass Mat and means that the Optima
(and those like it) don't have liquid electrolyte
inside the case. In the case of the Optima, the
electrolyte is more like a gel and is found on the
mat, which is spirally located inside the battery.
The mat absorbs and maintains the electrolyte.
AGM batteries are slightly more tolerant of
underhood heat and not particularly tolerant to
being overcharged. Depending on the design, if
you totally discharge the unit, it may or may not
come back 100%. (The Optima is far more forgiving
to this than say an ACDelco Platinum AGM)
The problem with overcharging an AGM is typically
the electrolyte. Overcharging dries the electrolyte
up, the resulting gas goes out the one way valve.
No more electrolyte, no more ability to produce
electricity. All batteries emit gas- it's the ability to
recycle electrolyte and not have it drain out the
vents of the battery (particularly when being over
charged) that the Optima doesn't tolerate.
All that said, the Red-top Optima is generally the
best for use in an automobile because the yellow top
is more for deep-cycle use. (Intended to be discharged
all the way in use and then recharged fully)
You can put "too big" a battery in a car- you don't
always want/need 1000 cold cranking amps. That
big a battery has less electrolyte inside the case
because the room is taken up with extra plates, etc.
If you're using that battery where it gets hot, it
will not last as long as one with fewer CCA but more
electrolyte.
I've had a red-top Optima in my race car for almost
7 years- it's just now showing its age with slightly
diminished cranking speed and taking longer to
charge after sitting for 2-3 months at a time.

ex-ACDelco
ex-Douglas Battery

<TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD><font size=-1>Quote:</font><HR></TD></TR><TR><TD><FONT SIZE=-1><BLOCKQUOTE> Ok- BATTERY 101...... </BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE>Thanks for the info. [img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_tup.gif[/img]
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thanks alot for the info buddy. i needed that.

however, do you think with my new sport trac charging at 14.6 volts is normal for a new car? i would assume so but let me know if it ain't.

what do you think could be wrong with my mustang on why it's overcharging?
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I want to add my story to why Optima's are great batterys. I bought my car over five years ago and it came with one already trunk mounted, albeit with funky wiring. Its till working great five years later and after sitting 8 months while I've re-built the entire drive line etc. an overnight trickle charge with my trusty 1979 Sears battery charger and it started the new very big block no sweat. It runs, with help from a 130 amp alternator, a Mark VIII electric fan, CSI waterpump, all the usual stuff in a '71 plus an aftermarket stereo amp changer setup.

Best battery I've ever used. But its a blue top, What does that mean?[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_bow.gif[/img]
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