[ACHiPo]

Originally Posted by EarlsflyinCobra

I use to swear by Optima batteries but I'm beginning to wonder.....I have a 1966 Shelby AC Cobra kit car that I built from the ground up. It has a 1989 Ford 5.0 motor and a one wire alternator. The first battery I put in it was an Optima Red Top which lasted 10+ years which is pretty good in the Florida heat. I went to Pep-boys and replaced it with a new Red Top when it finally gave up the ghost however that Red Top only lasted about 10 months. When I went back to Pep-Boys they did not have a Red Top in stock so they gave me a Yellow Top for the same price. That Yellow top only lasted about 10 months so they replaced it with another Yellow Top and guess what, YEP, about 10 months. The current Yellow Top just bit the dust after 7 months. And yes, we have checked the car for parasitic drains, bad grounds, etc., etc., and nothing was found. The drain on the battery was found to be about 8 ma, well below what should cause a battery to drain. So, anyone else had this kind of problem???????

Are you using a battery tender? I've heard that the gel batteries like Optima don't do well with battery tenders. Supposedly putting them on a timer works better.