[Z.06]

Lately, my Z06 has not been run more than once per week, and I have noticed that the Optima Red Top is not holding charge for a week. The battery is only one year old. I took the battery out and carried it to Autozone for a quick charge and a test and they swear the battery is OK. Any views from the Forum would be welcome as I am not happy about taking the car to Mr Goodwrench, who has not had a high success record with the car's problems to date (4 different dealers).

Is the battery really OK?
Is there something in the car's electrical system that is drawing down the battery. The car is 100% stock with the exception of the air box.

Comments appreciated.

 

[KMeloney]

I'm not sure what to tell you except that I just returned a Red Top to Battery Mart on Friday for a replacement. I put mine in the car in August, but the battery is now dead (no, I don't drive it in the winter -- but my Jeep which was sitting around much longer without driving it started right up).

I'm hoping I simply got a bad Optima the first time, and that this replacement will be a good one.

-Kirk

 

[bobby778]

Battery tender!! Get the GM pro line 6 or 7 year 100% sealed battery if anyone needs a replacment. Fits like a glove. If car sits alot YOU need a float charger. :thumb:

 

[IT L GO]

I also keep a Battery Tender on my Vette's when not in use. I know most folks on this forum are very high the the Optima Red Top, but when battery replacement time comes for me it will not be my choice. :cheers:

 

[Javelin]

My Optima is now a door stop for the same reason. Whenever it got cold outside it would die within 3 days. The wierd thing is my car could sit for weeks in the summer and start right up. It only had problems in cold weather.

 

[RoHo]

The first one I had in my Silverado Hot Rod truck did the same thing, they replaced it twice. No muss no fuss regarding the guarantee, It's now been in for four years now and not a problem, I was somewhat hesitant in putting one in the Z but I did as I don't want any kind of leaky battery. The battery shop said it guaranteed and not to worry, he said as many of these batteries as they make theres bound to be a few bad ones and as many people that tune into this Z06 site we will here about them.

 

[ZeeOhSix]

Well, you can just call me "Mr. Battery". I've done extensive research in the battery and parasitic loss realm. If you have some time to read, here is all the info. :cheers:

http://www.z06vette.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69375

http://www.z06vette.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69438

http://www.z06vette.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69531

http://www.z06vette.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69557

http://www.z06vette.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69575

http://www.z06vette.com/forums/showthread.php?t=69875

 

[jz06man]

I still have the stock battery, but it's only one year old... During the winter months while in storage, did get a battery tender on.. When in normal use- i only drive the Z on the weekend-do not have any issues. When the car sits for more time than a week because of travels, i put on the old battery tender... It's a great investment from $20-$55 .

Good luck..

 

[Z.06]

Optima Red Top Loosing Charge

Thanks for all the great and informative replies. My Z06 goes into the dealer tomorrow :-? for a parasitic loss check to see whether it is the car or the battery. Hate to do this on my $ but I am tired of using the jumper cables. For those of you that have moved on from the Optima after less than satisfactory experiences, what have you moved to? I am looking for a solution that will be able to start the car after it has been sitting for 2 weeks.

 

[RobGrnfld]

I just purchased a Optima red 35 four days ago...it also won't hold a charge after putting well over 100 miles of driving. With the a/c on it drops down to 12.0. Taking it back to AutoZone tomorrow for an exchange.

I think Optima has some quality control issues or the retailers are selling way too old batteries. Mine is a 35 series which means it must be close to a year old sitting on the shelf.

 

[rpallas]

That's a shame these Optima Red Top's are turning out to be crap! I was all set to get one, but now it's the Odyssey #PC925MJT for me. :cheers:

Bob

 

[ZeeOhSix]

My Z06 goes into the dealer tomorrow :-? for a parasitic loss check to see whether it is the car or the battery. Hate to do this on my $ but I am tired of using the jumper cables.

I hope they know how the system works or they will be fooled by it. See my threads above about the parasitic loss measurements I did on my car. Took me a while to understand what the computer was doing. But the bottom line is the normal parasitic draw should be around 18~20 mA.

 

[IT L GO]

That's a shame these Optima Red Top's are turning out to be crap! I was all set to get one, but now it's the Odyssey #PC925MJT for me. :cheers:

Bob

:z:

 

[RobGrnfld]

It L Go, please PM me were you purchased your Odyssey battery. I took the Optima back to AutoZone today...they tested it and said the battery is good. Refused to exchange the battery. Now I'm gonna have to check out the alternator to see if maybe that's the problem. This is turning out to be a major PIA.

 

[IT L GO]

It L Go, please PM me were you purchased your Odyssey battery. I took the Optima back to AutoZone today...they tested it and said the battery is good. Refused to exchange the battery. Now I'm gonna have to check out the alternator to see if maybe that's the problem. This is turning out to be a major PIA.

No one local to me has them. Do a search on Google for the closest place to you. All the prices seems to be about the same. :cheers:

 

[Z.06]

Optima Red Top Loosing Charge

Well, I went to my local dealer today for an electrical system check. He says my Red Top is bad. Parasitic loss in electrical system is only about 20 milliamps, which is fine.

The service manager repeated the check for me and the battery was acting erratic sometimes it would show 720 cca amd sometimes less than 500. So it looks like I have a bone to pick with the company that sold me the Optima.

:flaming:
Here's a red top for you.

 

[RoHo]

Tell them to keep for 24 Hours and then check again, that's how the one I had in my truck was acting, Just sitting on the shelf for 24 hours they could see it was loosing it's charge, They saw that and gave me a new battery, this one been going for four years with no problem,

 

[ZeeOhSix]

The service manager repeated the check for me and the battery was acting erratic sometimes it would show 720 cca amd sometimes less than 500. So it looks like I have a bone to pick with the company that sold me the Optima.

In one of those threads I listed on page 1, I tell how you can read the "Born on Date" of an Optima battery.

The 3rd Optima battery I picked up, I brought a voltmeter with me and the knowledge (from Optima Techline) of the date code and got the newest one with the highest self (open circuit) voltage.

The one bad one I had would lose voltage very quickly just sitting in the car. A good optima will only lose about 0.3 volts (go from 12.80 to 12.50 volts) in about 2 weeks with the normal 20 mA parasitic draw on it.

 

[BQuicksilver]

Add me to the list. My car sat only 3 days this week and was dead. It's been 60's outside. I even took my voltmeter to the store, looked at dates, etc.

 

[OneQuickCoupe]

Same deal with my Yellow top. It got to the point that it wouldn't't take a charge at all. Took it back and it had a dead cell or so the dealer said. It failed on his test stand in less than five minutes. They replaced it with a red top and so far it looks good. I drive it once a week. I wonder how long the smaller batteries will last. Any data yet on the battery pictured above? The hold down in the picture looks like it's a factory setup. Very nice.

D.J.