Optima battery dilemma

[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???????

[Ron61]

Earl,

You may get more information if you posted this in the Cobra Talk forum as more people look at that Forum than the Lounge.

Ron

[cycleguy55]

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???????

Lots of similar experiences, according to this thread: https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forum...Number=2886948

Interesting that you posted this - I had my Yellow Top die on me about 3 weeks ago. It was in the car when I bought it, so I'm not exactly sure how old it is, but I was experiencing greater and greater difficulties with hot starts. I didn't attribute it to the battery due to the fact I had no problems whatsoever with cold starts. When it died I noticed the voltmeter was showing 11 volts and it wouldn't crank.

[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.

[cycleguy55]

Originally Posted by ACHiPo

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.

Optima doesn't seem to have a problem with them: https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...battery-tender

[ACHiPo]

Originally Posted by cycleguy55

Optima doesn't seem to have a problem with them: https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...battery-tender

It doesn't make sense to me why a tender wouldn't be good on any liquid/gel cell battery, but I've heard it from a few sources.

[PurpleVenom]

Curious - How many miles are those with batteries going bad? I've had mine for 10 years, with almost 40,000 miles. True believer in you have to drive it to maintain it. It is true, that gel cell batteries require a float charger, not just any charger. If you Battery Tender provides float voltage for recharge, you should be fine. But, best suggestion is to just drive the car.

[Ron61]

I have used a Deltran battery tender on mine for the last 20 years, both the red and yellow tops and have never had any problems. The batteries have lasted me around 10/15 years.

Ron

[FWB]

i always used interstate batteries, AGM series, no quick death experienced, it sits all winter without charging and always starts

[twobjshelbys]

Optima batteries used to be extremely high quality, lasting years and years past their expected life. Then they got sold to Johnson Controls and quality went to the pits. I got 4 years out of my Ford GT battery (the FGT battery is a rebadged Optima). I'm not sure what I will replace it with.

I do use a battery tender on my GT.

On the other had for daily drivers the desert heat eats batteries here in Vegas, typically lasting only 2-3 years. I now buy the cheapest 3 (full replacement)/5 (prorated) year warranty battery I can get (the last one was Walmart).

[Michael C Henry]

I bought a yellow top (deep cycle) Optima maybe 15 years ago . MY Cobra replica came from Reno with a very small and light weight battery that went flat if I forgot to kill the battery master switch when stopping for any length of time. I changed to an Optima yellow top battery. I changed my wiring and added a more conveniently accessed master switch to kill power to fans after shut down. I haven't had any battery problems since, until this week. The car was outside for more than three weeks. When I went to start it didn't spin the engine as before. so I went to add the charger an noticed some white fuzz on the neg battery cable end and posts. when I loosened the cable clamp and twisted the cable the cable end an negative post came out in my hand. The socket and post base were covered with the white fuzz. THE replacement was $310. 15 years, lots of vibrations, battery needs to be momentarily twisted on its side to be installed in right rear. Not fun but 15 years , isn't bad. I had to buy another lawn mower TOO.