Dead Optima Red Top battery - how to recharge?

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Dead Optima Red Top battery - how to recharge?

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Dead Optima Red Top battery - how to recharge? - 8/26/2008 8:52:28 PM

boomie

Posts: 8
Joined: 8/10/2008
Status: offline

2002 corvette coupe. Bought 2 weeks ago.

In the past 2 weeks I left the interior lights on 3 times. The first 2 times happened in a row and driving the car around for 15-20 mins seemed to have fixed it. The voltage in the DIC shows 14-14.5 so I assumed it was all good. Yesterday night while installing the escort 9500i, i left the lights on again! (Im gonna cover that damn knob).

Since I parked face in, I took this opportunity to take the battery out and took it to the local Schucks store to get it charged. Figured I should let the battery get to full power. The guy at the store said that Optima batteries cannot be charged at his store. I tried another local store and they said the same thing. They also said that I should not jump start and use the alternator to recharge the battery lest the alternator go bust. This got me worried. The store guy checked the power and said its at 6 volts and goes to 2 volts if he puts a charge on it.

What are my options? The battery is about 2 years old and was in pretty good shape before i guess.

Thanks folks!
Boomie

Post #: 1

RE: Dead Optima Red Top battery - how to recharge? - 8/26/2008 9:47:25 PM

Posts: 1066
Joined: 8/7/2006
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Hi boomie and welcome again! I''ve seen the ads for the Optima batterys but I don''t have one. This is the first I''ve heard that thay can''t be recharged. I bought a battery from NAPA in Feb 2001, it was list at 3750 cold cranking watts and still works great. Let us know what the deal is with the Optima. PG.

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RE: Dead Optima Red Top battery - how to recharge? - 8/27/2008 8:09:08 PM

jsdomino

Posts: 21
Joined: 7/10/2006
Status: offline

I got this info from the Optima website.

The following charging methods are recommended to insure a long battery life - always use a voltage-regulated charger, with voltage limits set as described below.
RedTop Type: 34 & 34R - 34/78 - 78 - 6V - 25 & 35 - 75/25
These batteries are designed for engine starting applications. They are NOT recommended or warranted for use in deep cycle applications.
Recommended charging information:
Alternator:

13.3 to 15.0 volts, no amperage limit.

Battery Charger:

13.8 to 15.0 volts, 10 amps maximum, 6-12 hours approximate.

Rapid Recharge:

Maximum voltage 15.6 volts (regulated), no current limit as long as battery temperature remains below 125°F (51.7°C). Charge until current drops below 1 amp.

Float Charge:

13.2 to 13.8 volts, 1 amp maximum current, time indefinite (at lower voltage).

All limits must be strictly adhered to.

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RE: Dead Optima Red Top battery - how to recharge? - 8/27/2008 9:47:09 PM

Danger731

Posts: 19
Joined: 7/25/2008
Status: offline

get a trickle charger, I''ve used mine dozens of times, it has a 2 amp and 10 amp setting.

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RE: Dead Optima Red Top battery - how to recharge? - 8/27/2008 10:57:58 PM

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Joined: 8/7/2006
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Thanks for the heads up, I can''t believe that my battery is 7 years and 6 months old but I will go back to NAPA this week and buy another. I''d rather spend a little more now rather than get stuck in the middle of nowhere. PG.

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my Vettes birthday, May 1, 1974

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RE: Dead Optima Red Top battery - how to recharge? - 8/28/2008 11:28:27 AM

boomie

Posts: 8
Joined: 8/10/2008
Status: offline

So I called the Optima customer support line also and this is what they told me:

Charge it to 12.8/12.9V max
Use a 10Amp charger MAX.
For my battery which was down to 6V, he mentioned charging at 10A for 4-5 hours. Minimum he said was a 2A charger and for that leave it for 20-24 hours.
The battery will get warm, which is OK, but stop if it gets hot.
If after 30 min you dont see the charge improving, hook up another good battery to your battery using jumper cables so that the charger things its doing something.

I put it on a charger and it seemed to charge up pretty good. Drove it to work today! :)

The Schucks guys were so lame in saying that if its down to 6V, its toast. Get a new battery.

The Optima CS line rocked. Thanks jsdomino for confirming that in his post so I was assured.

-Boomie

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RE: Dead Optima Red Top battery - how to recharge? - 8/28/2008 5:04:42 PM

YANKEECORVETTE

Posts: 106
Joined: 12/16/2007
Status: offline

My vette also has a phatom drain so, I put a quick disconnect and a onboard charger. I read on some threads that C5 and C6s have a issue w/ the under the hood lights tend to stay on if the car is parked tilted so the mercury switch trips the lights. Also the radio clock tends to suck juice slowly. My cheapo 5 year battery is 6 years old

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Post #: 7