Lost an Optima Yellow top

[Oldblueaccord]

Well after 8.5 years my yellow top went bad in my Scout. It sat most of the summer to hot to drive it until about a month ago. it would start OK cold but slow cranking and the amp draw was over 250 amps cold. This is on a Chrysler 440.

Alotta fooling around later new starter,fist fight with my headers etc new GIANT cables I realized the battery would drop down to 3 volts on cranking 250-300 amps. it would spring back right to 12,6 volts no load but I just wasn't testing the voltage under load so I got tricked. :Owned2:

Battery would not hold voltage under any load over 100 amps and the instore fancy testers they had labeled it bad even after an over night charge. New one tested in at 1000 cca with no charge off the shelf.

I figured this would cheer Lost up a little.


wp

[MessyHonda]

wow that is a long time. I wonder if you had one of the original optima batteries that were made in USA. the new ones are made in mexico and the quality has gone down. right now i have teg small batt(yellow top). so far i only had to jump it after i left the car sit for almost 2 weeks.

[cygnus x-1]

I just revived an old (circa 2006) Optima red top that had been sitting for about 2 years. Open circuit voltage was about 9V and it wouldn't even budge the current needle with a regular battery charger. So I connected it to a lab type power supply set for about 100 mA current limit and about 18V. Again it would barely move the current draw needle so I left it that way over night. The next day it had pulled the voltage down to about 14V and the current draw was at the limit of 100mA. I bumped up the current limit to 2A and left it for another day. After that I put it on the regular charger and it would charge at around 6 amps. A few hours of that and it had no problems firing up my newly rebuilt VW diesel.

It doesn't have much reserve capacity though. If I leave the glow plugs on with the engine idling the battery light will come on after a few minutes. It goes off if I turn off the glow plugs so it just doesn't like the high current draw.


C|

[Dr_Snooz]

I just revived an old (circa 2006) Optima red top that had been sitting for about 2 years. Open circuit voltage was about 9V and it wouldn't even budge the current needle with a regular battery charger. So I connected it to a lab type power supply set for about 100 mA current limit and about 18V. Again it would barely move the current draw needle so I left it that way over night. The next day it had pulled the voltage down to about 14V and the current draw was at the limit of 100mA. I bumped up the current limit to 2A and left it for another day. After that I put it on the regular charger and it would charge at around 6 amps. A few hours of that and it had no problems firing up my newly rebuilt VW diesel.

It doesn't have much reserve capacity though. If I leave the glow plugs on with the engine idling the battery light will come on after a few minutes. It goes off if I turn off the glow plugs so it just doesn't like the high current draw.


C|

Do you have a desulfator? It is probably sulfated up real good if it was left sitting.

@ OldBlue - I always dread any kind of electrical problems. It seems they always involve some kind of easter egging. Unless you have a high dollar diagnostic machine, you can't really be sure of what part is bad until you have laid your money down. Glad you got it worked out.

[2drSE-i]

I'm sorry you've downgraded to a new Optima

:)

Those "De-sulfators" do actually work, even if it sounds like some mumbo jumbo.

[cygnus x-1]

Do you have a desulfator? It is probably sulfated up real good if it was left sitting.


Oh, I'm sure it is. No I don't have a desulfator, but that was why I used the lab supply to trickle it at a higher voltage.

I think part of the problem may also be the crank pulley running the alternator. It's a little small so at idle the alternator might not be spinning fast enough. I have a larger pulley I can try but I'll have to make a spacer or something to get it to fit.

C|

[2ndGenGuy]

Does that sulfating thing happen to both lead-acid and gel batteries?

I had an Exide battery in my 1g that came with the car when I got it. The thing was 3 years old, and I got another 5 out of it. It had one of those 8 year warranties on it, and it actually lasted about that long. I'd killed it many times, let it sit, recharged it, and never had a problem with it. That was a damn good battery for being just a sealed lead acid type. And awesome for coming with the car from the wrecking yard.