Optima 1 year old, going bad??

[LoudBimmer]

The guy at AutoZone is a salesman. Not necessarily knowledgeable. Folks I work with do the same thing.

I'd take an optima over a tired stock battery, but it's still just a standard low-grade consumer battery. Adequate to put in a car with stock electrical demand. Won't hold a candle to a high end battery like XS

When the guy at auto zone saw my xs D3100, he asked me why I run cheap chinese knockoff instead of the yellow tops, which are the best money can get.

[Guest]

The guy at AutoZone is a salesman. Not necessarily knowledgeable. Folks I work with do the same thing.

I'd take an optima over a tired stock battery, but it's still just a standard low-grade consumer battery. Adequate to put in a car with stock electrical demand. Won't hold a candle to a high end battery like XS

When the guy at auto zone saw my xs D3100, he asked me why I run cheap chinese knockoff instead of the yellow tops, which are the best money can get.

because the cheap chinese knockoff weighs 10lb more.

[fox_racin4]

I honestly have very few issues out of mine. For the price I get them for and the fact that they were really the ones I could make work in my space I'm not disappointed in them. they are not an XS. They are not a Kinetic. Taht I will not argue. I do keep my truck on a charger if its not being driven. It seriously looks like an electric car because of the cord hanging out of it all the time

Heres what I found when I dug mine out.

pretty sweet huh

I hate those terminals even with a nice distro block/terminal on there

[truthsayer]

I have a new one 8 months old on floor of garage just not like a XS Power battery.

I agree, my son went threw 2 in a year, optima's are over rated and not very good quality. Now with 2 elcheapo walmart batts, he has had no issues.

But the guy at autozone said that yellow tops are the best in the industry

Your not seriously trusting some guy from Auto Zone. That's like trusting some of these idiots at your local audio shop spilling out bullshit information.

[LoudBimmer]

dude, I was sarcastic about it. lol I thought people would know by now.

Both, the advanced auto parts and auto zone where I live don't know shit about car audio or anything that's got to do with it. But trying to sound like they like they do.

Expect one guy at advanced who knows about parts, not car audio, even admitted it. Always helpful.

[Soccerballzs]

Good for a tractor on a Farm!!!!

[Miguels]

i have an update on my battery... i bought a new one (duralast platnum)and the car turns faster and have no issue starting.

what i noticed is my ground wire was full of the green thing.. there was corrosion all over that wire. i cleaned it up just for now but im guessing that was causing the optima not to charge even though i seen it would charge at 14.0. now i see it charge at 14.5 so cleaning up the wire a bit helped with charging. i also got the optima on the charger all night and after disconnecting it and letting it rest about 10 hours it dropped to 12.40. which is almost a volt better. maybe my battery was not done for and my issue was the wires. but still seeing 12.40 is not good but i think the battery can be saved

[FeelDaBass]

Thanks for all the comments and information guys. There has only been one time where it was noticeably turning the engine slowly, but has never failed yet. We'll see how that goes when it is below 0 outside though...

Also, I will charge it up when I get a chance. My alternator has never had a problem charging it previously. My next battery is definitely going to be an XS or a Kinetic. Do you guys have any advice on buying used batteries? I realize it's probably not a smart idea...but it's worth asking.



One more thing. Is charging it with an automatic 40 amp Black & Decker battery charger safe? It tops it off, but I don't know if 40 amps is too much for a single Yellow Top battery.. I have always tried to avoid charging it with it because of this.

[Miguels]

this is my first time buying an agm from autozone and with a 3 year warranty i think it beats the deka

can you splice your ground wire and see how its doing with corrosion? im going to have to replace my wires this weekend.. just thinking if i should use stock or just get some 1/0 and do my own lol

[FeelDaBass]

this is my first time buying an agm from autozone and with a 3 year warranty i think it beats the deka

can you splice your ground wire and see how its doing with corrosion? im going to have to replace my wires this weekend.. just thinking if i should use stock or just get some 1/0 and do my own lol

Not easily...my car is a 98 Chrysler Concorde and you're supposed to take the front right tire off to take the battery out. It's a pain in the ass, so I just take the air filter out. I'll check on that though. I know multiple things tend to loosen overtime (distribution blocks, fuse holders, etc.) so checking the battery again wouldn't hurt either. Thanks for the idea to check it out though.