Optima battery that will not hold a charge

[Maclab58]

I have a 1 yr old Optima battery that will not hold a charge. We were gone on vacation for 10 days and I came home to a completely dead battery. Would not register even one volt. I placed it on a slow charger for 24 hours and was able to start the car and driving around I parked it for three or four hours and came back out to start it and it was down to 4 V. I recharged it again this morning and had a voltage of 6.42 volts. I have let it sit now for approximately 2 1/2 hours. And it is down to 6.24 V. I am going to place it back on the charger again and disconnect the battery cables from the car and see if I get a voltage drop after setting for a few hours. Any suggestion ?

[SeaSlugs]

Did you leave the key on for those 10 days? sounds like a junk battery otherwise.

When your charging the battery and your observing the voltage drop this is with both battery terminals disconnected so you can eliminate something in the car drawing it down correct?

[Art Newland]

Might want to check and see if the brake light is sticking on?

[Benson]

Sometimes Optimas do not accept a full charge when run down to 0 volts.

Might try putting a 6 volt charged battery in parallel and charge together sometimes this allows a complete charge on the Optima.

Might try this several times before giving up on it!

[Benson]

Details .... should work with 6volt batteries also if you use 5.25 volts where it says 10.5 and 6.1 where it says 12.2 and a 6 volt charger ...

https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...harged-battery

[BudP]

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Had the same thing happen with a two year-old Optima this Summer. Every other week, it seemed to drop to 4 volts or slightly less. Took 12 hours or more to recharge it to 6.3 volt output. So, this past weekend after I had recharged it to 6.3 output, I put it on a battery load tester. In five seconds under load it went from "OK" to the very low side of "Weak." I traded it in for a 6 volt, group one wet cell this weekend for a net price of $64 (after $12 trade-in credit).

[C26Pinelake]

It should be replaceable under warranty. I think that now they are made in Mexico they are junk. I have had three failures in 3 years and will never buy another one. Wayne.

Kind of like a couple of the big shooters on this site swear by Snapon tools but then they swear at Harbor Freight. China is China and many HF are made in China as are many Snapon tools. The tools don't make the mechanic, just because you buy Snapon does not mean you are a better Wayne.

[Maclab58]

Like in the battery for two hours and there was no change in so voltage. I have reconnected the battery now and will wait a couple more hours and see if it drops. Drops I Soum that I have a short somewhere the brake lights are off, and lights and Cal lights are off and the dash light is off. Ignition switch is also off.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Are you using an alternator?
A bad diode can drain the battery.

If you have a generator, then check the cutout to be sure it doesn't stick closed. I'm using the same original cutout for over 20 years and never had a problem with it. Many repro cutouts are very poor quality, so people often use a better quality diode cutout, such as the one made by A&L.

[Terry, NJ]

I had a bad Pop out switch that we originally misdiagnosed asa bad battery. It was showing a two amp discharge with the key off. With the battery fully charged, disconnect it and see if it goes down.
Terry

[Glenn of northport]

a regular charger will not work good I use a Diehard dh-6a works fine on optima battery

[Vicky]

Did you make any recent changes to the electrical system? I installed turn signals on my speedster, and there was a "sneak circuit drain" from the Flasher through the indicator light on the turn signal switch that caused a similar problem as yours. I removed the bulb from the switch and that eliminated the problem.

[C26Pinelake]

Did the dealer check it to see if there is a dead cell or has all the analysis been done of this site? Did he attempt to return it under warranty? Wayne

[Rich in Tucson]

I have revived several Optimas (and 11 year old Optimas) with symptoms like yours with a low amperage, desulfating battery charger. Usually takes several weeks. Shumacher "Smart" chargers and "BatteryMINDer" are two that work.

[Mike V. Florida]

Have read that the new optimas don't last as long as the new ones since being moved to Mexico for manufacture in 2010. True of not, I don't know anything except for what I have read in in this and other forums.

[modelAtony]

You can't charge Optima like regular battery. When you receive them they need to be charged the correct way and with a special charger or in line with another battery, check the site for Optima it tells the correct way to charge. You can't just take it off the shelf new and take it straight to car. Have fun model A tony tony white Lafayette, LA

[daveymc29]

Iwas working on my roadster and left the key on overnight. Killed the optima. put a very slow charger on it and it took in excess of two days to revive it. (less than two year old Optima.) A few weeks later it was dead again, key on, cleaned up the pop-out and now when I turn it off, it is really off and the optima is working great. I am running 6V possitive ground w/alternator. It now recharges normally while driving and seems to do so quicker than the lead acid battery did.

[duke36]

Had similar issue with new 6v. Optima that wouldn't hold charge. Now with maintainer on it , it's fine. We install good battery cut of switches (Cole Hersey, etc.) in all cars in the interior for convenience as in the Andrews green book for both 6 and 12 volt and shut off the switches after every use.

[john charlton]

The optima in the family fordor has just died . It was date coded year 2000 so lasted 17 years so that cant be bad !!!. This is with a 6v pos ground alternator.

John in cool dark rain on the way again Suffolk County England .

[Phil Brown]

Originally Posted by modelAtony

You can't charge Optima like regular battery. When you receive them they need to be charged the correct way and with a special charger or in line with another battery, check the site for Optima it tells the correct way to charge. You can't just take it off the shelf new and take it straight to car. Have fun model A tony tony white Lafayette, LA

So if they need a "special" charger how could you ever expect it to work long term with your cars charging system ?
And if the cars charging system is an acceptable charging method just hand crank it and drive it around

[Chippy Minton]

I have an Optima battery and charge itvwith a cheap and nasty 6volt charger and it works fine. I don't know where it was made but it does the job very well. If you want to know if the discharge is down to the battery or a fault in the car's electrical system disconnect it before charging and checking if it holds its charge.

[Synchro909]

When I bought my 1930 CCPU from Arizona a while ago, I had owned it for 18 months before I saw it. Boy, was I glad to see it but a strike on the wharves in US, a dispute over money between my agent and the guy he worked with in LA contributed to the agonising delay.
When it finally did arrive, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Red topped Optima battery in it. As part of my pre-start up check, I put a meter across the battery and found the voltage to be good. It cranked and started the motor with no trouble and still does. That battery had stood for 18 months (with a lead off it so there was no drain) but it survived apparently undamaged. I have no idea how old it is but that was enough to leave me impressed by Optima Batteries.

[antiquepa]

Post #16 is right. when I was at a Columbus good guy event there was a rep. from optima batterys that had a class on charging that battery. I beleave now they have a charger just for this battery. This was years ago but that is what I was told,. it had to be charged off another battery!!

[dareheart]

Check to see if you have a stuck cutout. When you charge the battery it will get hot if it’s stuck.

[Bruce Adams]

Adding to MODEL A TONY's comment, OPTIMA's can't be charged like other batteries when DEAD. They either have to be charged on a proprietary charger or charged IN LINE with another battery of like voltage.
They can be charged normally when not dead.

[Kurt in NJ]

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I have always used a old(40s) stupid charger, didn't care if the optima was totally dead----- same for the stock A generator charging system, hand cranked it from totally dead, went for a drive, parked it after 1 hour drive, months later it started, never used a maintainer charger, I do have a higher than normal charge rate set (14amps)--- my secret to long battery life, on long distances I turn on the headlights---- And the neglect method, don't do anything, this got me 16 years out of the last optima