If you are keener to apply your high-output alternator, unless there is a voltage regulation-fail, it will barely damage the Optima. OPTIMA Batteries, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Normal chargers won't always work with an Optima battery. In this case, a winch, a stereo, or an on-board 12V fridge scoops a lot of electricity from the battery, and then it's refilled by your charging system. Check out our tips and support section. Lastly, you should have a charger that charges AGM batteries. Deep cycle batteries are designed to be discharged a lot, then charged up. Let us help. You hook it up and go. that have fifteen times more vibration resistance making it the perfect choice for your boat. blog.streetsideauto.com/auto-parts/bring-optima-battery-back-dead The reason for this is simple - Optimas are AGM batteries and AGMs have a very low internal resistance. Or it's just old. If your Optima's voltage is okay, it still might not perform well under load. They may hook a seemingly Keep your engine running and re-test your battery with the voltmeter or multimeter you have. Basically, the starter skims off some electricity from the battery for starting, and it's rapidly refilled once you start up. We'll give you truthful information about how to make your battery last longer in the Power Source blog See More Many people don't know this, but a conventional battery charger won't work with an Optima battery that's discharged below 10.5V. Connect the charger to the regular battery and turn it on. All Rights Reserved. This is your first reading - here's how to interpret it: 12.7 - 13.2 volts - NORMAL with 100% charge. Coupon code: 10% off $500 or more at 4 Wheel Parts (SD4WP10OFF), Coupon code: 5% off entire purchase at 4 Wheel Parts (4WPAFEXAPR5), Jiggling your positive battery clamp (lightly!) When working with batteries, you need to have plenty of ventilation, remove your jewelry, wear protective eyewear (safety glasses) and clothing, and exercise caution. In this article, we'll take a look at how to determine whether your Optima is bad, whether it's salvageable, and why you might need a special charger or traditional battery to recharge it. Your battery is old. https://rvexpert.net/how-to-tell-if-an-optima-battery-is-bad This is highly discharged but usually still recoverable. Similarly, terminal contacts can break or crack internally. Need a new boat battery? If you follow the right charging … When a regular battery charger is hooked up to an Optima, it often won't even turn on - while the Optima could be charged, the charger thinks it's totally kaput (like a regular battery would be) and doesn't even come on. Our YELLOWTOP batteries are the best fit for the job. We want the battery in a normal state.). The great thing about AGM batteries, including Optima RedTop and YellowTop batteries, is that they have very low internal resistance. The charger will not charge a defective battery because the results could be unsafe. Hook the Optima battery to the charger and charge as normal. Touch the red probe to the positive terminal on the Optima and touch the black probe to the negative Optima terminal. Fortunately, we can tell you that most batteries that come in for warranty service are just deeply-discharged and will work fine, when properly-recharged, as explained in this video. Dell XPS laptops and Dell Precision mobile workstations come with battery charge indicators on the left or right side (Figure 4). When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. by James William. However, if the reading is below 10 volts, you need to recharge your battery for a while. Then have a helper try to start your 4x4. This will hurt you--BAD! Optima batteries are different from a traditional battery because of their construction, but you can still figure them out with a couple of tools. Meaning you either charged it using an appropriate charger or drove the vehicle for at least a while right before your test. Did you go out to your car, only to find it won't start and now you're wondering if your battery is going bad? This is slightly higher than the 12 volts you find labeled on the side of the battery to allow for voltage resistance in the battery cables. Lithium-ion batteries are one of the ingenious batteries compared to other batteries. Put the red probe on the positive Optima terminal and the black probe on the negative Optima terminal. Our BLUETOP batteries are high-performance AGM marine batteries Do not allow battery electrolyte to mix with salt water. The voltage on your Optima should read 9.5-10.5 volts for at least 30 seconds. for accessory loaded vehicles. Get some cool 4x4 tech every couple of weeks: Electrical tech is confusing! Equipped with premium cranking power and impressive cycling capability, they are perfect Which Optima Battery Is The Best For You? It happens due to its low-intensity internal resistance which efficiently accepts high current compared to mainstream batteries. It depends a lot on how deeply it's been discharged. OPTIMA Batteries represent the ultimate in quality & innovation in the battery market. This usually means that your battery is sulfated, which happens when it sits for a long time (not charging) or is deeply discharged when it shouldn't be. The low internal resistance allows them to put out a lot of electricity and be discharged more than a regular battery. High rates of charge/discharge can generate hydrogen gas which can form bubbles between the pates and the gas mat effectively reducing the battery capacity. It's a rechargeable, deep cycle battery. You can DIY a charging setup in a pinch. Load Test the Battery. To a traditional battery charger, a deeply discharged Optima battery is a bad battery. Starting batteries are designed to be discharged a little, then be charged up fairly quickly by your charging system. This usually happens when the Optima measures around 10.5 volts. At this point you're going to start checking the Optima's voltage frequently for the next hour. AGM batteries (optima and others)can have problems with high rates of charge or discharge (using them to weld is highly NOT recommended). Roundforge.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. It might seem like the advice a battery company would offer would be to replace it immediately, just to be safe. And when you think your battery is acting funny, it can be a real problem to figure out the cause. He likes doing long distance overland travel and would happily spend every night in the bed of a pickup under the stars. and looking for white powder, Checking your starter and main power feeds for tightness, Checking your negative battery cable for tightness and corrosion. (positive to positive, negative to negative). Table 1: Battery health indicator codes Check Battery Charge Status using LED Indicators. Wait and hour and check the Optima. Even small quantities of this combination will produce chorine gas that can KILL you! 115K likes. Make sure you choose the right Optima battery for what you need. There are some additional benefits: This is the easiest way to charge or maintain an AGM battery like an Optima. Amazon, the Amazon logo, AmazonSupply, and the AmazonSupply logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. The process to get to 10.5 V should not take more than a 2 hours. Tyler came out of the womb with a Birfield in one hand and a stick of 6010 in the other, ready to weld any piece of trail-busted steel back together. Ready to replace your RV battery? Battery no longer operates, or battery status cannot be determined. Subscribe to our newsletters now and stay up to date with new collections, the latest trends and exclusive offers. This time when you read the voltmeter, the voltage should read at least 13 volts. Use a wrench to make clamps and other connections reasonably tight (but not so tight that you damage a battery post!). It's helpful to have a vehicle so you can load test the battery, plus a helper. If it's reading a low voltage, it's probably sulfated and probably needs replacement. (Tip: If we're solo, we put the multimeter on the windshield and use long alligator clips to reach the battery.). To begin, switch your multimeter to 20VDC or whatever will get your multimeter reading somewhere in the range of 12 volts DC. Checking any grounding straps - these will often go from the engine block to the body and/or from the engine block to the frame. Step 4 – Retest The Battery With The Voltmeter . It may have a short, a bad cell, or some other defect. What we mean by this is that it should be in whatever state you think is charged, whether that means that it's been on a charger for a bit or that you just drove around for a while. https://www.autozone.com/diy/battery/are-optima-batteries-worth-it In the instances where the battery cannot be recovered and warranty assistance is … You can load test it by going to an auto parts store (they all have battery testers nowadays) or do it yourself with a multimeter. You have two options: If you buy a charger for AGM batteries, it's easy to charge up a dead AGM. We also participate in other affiliate programs. First, you need a multimeter or voltmeter. (The point here is that you didn't just pull the Optima out of your shed where it's been sitting for the last 6 months, or that you're not testing it after using it to power the disco ball at your neighbor's midnight rave party. It has simply slipped below the minimum voltage threshold of the charger. In addition to all this, it is both spill-proof and leak-proof. The goal here is to get the Optima up to 10.5 volts, then hook it directly to your charger. An AGM battery can stump car guys because it doesn’t work like a traditional flooded lead-acid battery. The average life span of a car battery is typically between four to … Copyright © Roundforge 2019. For some reason, many of us overcomplicate our solutions and diagnosis of problems (We do it here at Roundforge too!). In time, AGM batteries (including OPTIMA batteries) may fail. So, the question arises for Optima Batteries is if they need a special charger. (Although repeated discharging a dark-cased RedTop or BlueTop is not good for longevity). By attaching the Optima to the regular battery, we can draw off some current to charge the Optima. The first thing you need to do if you think your battery is going bad, is to This is not too low to charge, so the charger will turn on and flow current. How do you fix this? Car batteries that are deeply-discharged won't start a car, but that doesn't necessarily mean they need to be replaced and we don't want you to replace your battery if it doesn't need it. We load test it by hooking it up to a vehicle and checking the voltage while running the starter. But, the AGM battery is just fine. This is probably one of the most common problem people have with batteries, but it's often not checked. He has wheeled, broken, and modified a variety of rigs, from Toyotas to Jeeps to Fords to Chevies. https://tawallaccess.com/2016/08/03/optima-battery-warranty-guide-lines AGM battery charger to charge bad Optima battery; Make sure to set it at 20 VDC calibration; Your Optima battery should be in a sure charged state. Before assuming your Optima has gone bad, check your battery connections for corrosion and tightness. How Do You Tell if Your Battery is Going Bad. Once charged, test the voltage again, then … This means: Clean corrosion with sandpaper so that you connect to clean, bare metal. Optima batteries work a lot like regular batteries with some added features. In fact, if a battery reaches 10.5 volts, it's considered to be "fully discharged". Here's what you need: The general concept here is that you charge the discharged "regular" battery with the battery charger, but you also hook up the Optima to piggyback on the regular battery. If you need help with your battery, please call 888-8-OPTIMA. Watch the multimeter as the starter motor is turning, not when you're started up! Once it reaches 10.5V on your multimeter, turn off the charger and disconnect the regular battery. Ignore anyone who tells you how bad it is to put a battery on concre... te. You need to take fairly accurate readings of your Optima's voltage. Always check your connections first! A dark-cased RedTop or BlueTop Optima is a starting battery. Like the Optima battery, it's maintenance-free and can be mounted in any position. and looking for white powder, Jiggling your negative battery clamp (lightly!) Anything in this range means that you have normal charge and you're in the right range for an Optima. If it's hot to the touch or gassing out the vents, shut it down! This is usually one of two things: The reason an open cell looks okay in no-load testing your Optima is heat: A warm battery can expand inside and things that should touch don't touch anymore. It needs to measure battery voltage, so you'll want to set it correctly. However, we think such advice is wasteful. Best lifepo4 battery means the battery that has high draining power, fast charging, low weight, long-lasting capability. Warm to the touch is okay. Most of these chargers are automatic (they turn off when done), They can maintain your battery with a trickle charge when you want to store it, They still work with regular, non-AGM batteries, They have advanced functionality, like desulfation, a major battery killer, a battery that has been discharged to around 12.2 volts (could be a little more or less), Hook the Optima to the regular battery in parallel with the jumper cables. Bad connections and particularly bad grounds are one of the easiest problems to fix but often one of the last things that we check! Looking for suggestions? In other words, if you're going to do something that drains your battery down, use a YellowTop. The charger sees the voltage in the Optima as too low to charge. Instead, these are processed inside the battery itself. A good rule of thumb for YellowTop Optimas is this: If you've added something to your electrical system that can rapidly use electricity without immediately replenishing it, you need an Optima. It also has less than a three percent per month standing discharge. When cold, they may touch and flow current, but when they warm up they break contact. Your local automotive shop is more than able to load test your battery for … It is recommended that you replace the battery. Here's what to do: Like before, your multimeter will be set to 20VDC, or whatever gets you in that 12 volt DC range. Read more on that below. Warning! The battery is no good. An alternative to an Optima-specific charger: You can also use a regular battery charger with a regular battery to charge an Optima. However, in many cases, Optima batteries that are assumed to be bad may actually be perfectly fine, just deeply discharged. If the voltage doesn't hold at 9.5-10.5 volts for 30 seconds, it means your battery is toast. 0 volts usually means that you've got a short somewhere in the battery - it'll need to be replaced. Most multimeters have a "20 VDC" position, and that's where you want to be. The regular battery has a higher voltage, but still needs to be charged - the charger will want it to be at least 12.7 volts. When the starter motor is turning over the engine, that is the heavy load we're using to see how the battery performs. A light-cased YellowTop or BlueTop Optima is a deep cycle battery. Sometimes they are bare wire. Once started, the alternator will start push the voltage up - we aren't interested in alternator voltage since that tells you about charging, not the condition of your Optima. For the most part, "deeply discharged" means an Optima that reads at 10.5 volts or less on a voltmeter. We've found that some of the cheaper multimeters out there aren't always very accurate (like that free one from Harbor Freight) so keep that in mind if your readings are right on the edge of a zone. https://www.roundforge.com/articles/how-tell-if-your-optima-battery-bad Before you start, make sure your Optima is "charged". If the alternator can’t turn into high gear, the alternator has gone bad. If you don't want to buy an AGM charger, no problem. If your Optima is in this range and you think it should be charged, it's not taking or not holding a charge. Need help with OPTIMA products? Now that your multimeter is ready at 20VDC, meaning 12V range DC, place the probe’s red end touching the positive … You're going to need a couple of things to check your Optima. Hazardous fumes do not escape the battery when it’s charged.