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Tue Apr 10, 2012 9:09 pm

also something to think about with any battery. most parts pusher will throw the battery around before you get it. i have seen many batteries dropped on the counter. do that a few times before you are more than likely to have a dead cell in a year or so. i had to replace a battery in a customers car twice in one month due to dead cell from being dropped or slammed down on the counter by a parts guy that dont seem to care that you have to pull a car half way apart just to get to the battery.

Tue Apr 10, 2012 10:04 pm

on the land cruiser forums, many say the optima quality has gone down.
many on that forum now get sears die hard platinum batteries which are similar in specs to Odyssey batteries. theyre a pretty penny though.

Tue Apr 10, 2012 10:11 pm

67 Brian wrote: also something to think about with any battery. most parts pusher will throw the battery around before you get it. i have seen many batteries dropped on the counter. do that a few times before you are more than likely to have a dead cell in a year or so. i had to replace a battery in a customers car twice in one month due to dead cell from being dropped or slammed down on the counter by a parts guy that dont seem to care that you have to pull a car half way apart just to get to the battery.

I went to a battery specialist, nothing but batteries for vehicles and farm equipment.

Good thing now that I think about it, as they would have a better idea on how to handle a battery.

You are right though, a shock to the battery can easily damage the plates and we are talking about lead, heavy and very flimsy and in the case of a battery its granular sandwiched lead material, so it crumbles like a biscuit.

Wed Apr 11, 2012 4:37 am

limerence wrote: on the land cruiser forums, many say the optima quality has gone down.

Having owned several in the last 10 or so years, I'd agree with this statement.

Wed Apr 11, 2012 9:58 am

I have one optima that I bought in '97 or '98, still works like a champ. I have another one that I bought in the mid 2000's; for all intents and purposes it's a doorstop. I have a battery charger with the appropriate AGM mode, and it has been able to charge the older one just fine, but the newer battery won't hold a charge longer than a day.

Wed Apr 11, 2012 10:07 am

thom wrote: I have one optima that I bought in '97 or '98, still works like a champ. I have another one that I bought in the mid 2000's; for all intents and purposes it's a doorstop. I have a battery charger with the appropriate AGM mode, and it has been able to charge the older one just fine, but the newer battery won't hold a charge longer than a day.

That's because Johnson Controls bought the original company and replaced the quality with 'cost savings'...they haven't been the same since!

Wed Apr 11, 2012 10:21 am

thom wrote: I have one optima that I bought in '97 or '98, still works like a champ. I have another one that I bought in the mid 2000's; for all intents and purposes it's a doorstop. I have a battery charger with the appropriate AGM mode, and it has been able to charge the older one just fine, but the newer battery won't hold a charge longer than a day.

I have read of this AGM thing, gey at the store never mentioned it when i bought my optima.

Does the cars alternator/generator charge in the AGM way? :?

Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:04 pm

krusher wrote:

I have read of this AGM thing, gey at the store never mentioned it when i bought my optima.

Does the cars alternator/generator charge in the AGM way? :?

Optima themselves don't mention it on their own charging page.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/product_support/charging.php