Battery

I experienced a dead battery this weekend, but fortunately it happened in my own garage. I found a replacement locally but have a feeling that it will be a temporary measure since there are lots of options out there. That got me thinking, what's everyone else running for a battery these days: standard lead-acid, sealed AGM, one of those lightweight units or something else?

I would say that fresh is the key. I expected that batteries would last longer in the warm climate but now think that 5 years is when they they hit old age. My Fiat uses a common lead acid and the Miata the smaller one suited to it. My Fiat has seen 3 batteries since 1999. They never completely die but get weaker and weaker and hold a charge for less time between uses. I don't use a charger or tender since I use it most weekends. Miata lasted about 5 years and it was losing charge in 2 days. Honda is going well after an impressive 8 years. It is past due but gets the most use. All are lead acid. There is no protection against catastrophic battery failure but to carry jumper cables to get you to a new one when it happens. Cheers Ron

In reply to David S. Wallens:

best thing i can tellyou is no matter what keep it on a trickle charger. I recently returned a Yellow top optima which I bought thinking it was the best for my occasionly run TR7. Wouldn't stay charged for 2 weeks! Optima told me that the battery was 2 years old when I got it and would not hold a charge because it had "sulfated". Battery was returned to store for full credit towards a new (Deka) battery. This, btw, after the store "tested" it and told me something was wrong with the car. Optima admitted that if the car dropped to 12.4 volts once, it would "sulfate" and would quickly become useless. Point being, no matter what battery you buy, it needs to remain charged. A trickle charger is cheap and easy for a car thats only occasionly driven. Thats the only way you'll get long life.

Tony

Interestingly, The battery in my 2000 Miata is the original one.

The car's never been garaged. Living here in north-west NJ, it sees plenty of cold weather and snow. I run Blizzaks on it and drive it all winter.

For some years, I've found those cheap walmart batteries to work well. They've always (I think) gone beyond their years, and they're cheap.

AGM is neat, but since most of my cars vent the batteries quite well, and because I tend not to park them upside down, I don't find the need for it.

Have to agree with milanoverde. If your not driving the car very often it doesn't matter if your battery is standard lead-acid, AGM, or anything else. A sitting battery will lose charge, over time, and end up being no good. Get you self a trickle charger; it's cheaper then frequently buying new batteries. Schumacher has a 1.5 Amp tickle charger for around 35.00 dollars.

I use Optimas in my two collector cars and my MG Midget racecar (no alternator). One of the batteries is at least 10 years old (I'm thinking more like 15) and the other is at least 7. The third is about 6 years old. None have been treated very well. They have been left to go flat multiple times and always charge back up again. The 10-15 year old one has been left flat for a year at a time or more. Try letting a lead-acid battery go flat once or twice and it is usually a death knell, or at least a shortened life.

I've never had an Optima go bad on me, I don't think. I had one that I exchanged one time, but later I realized that my computer controlled charger wouldn't charge it because it was TOO flat and it was actually probably OK. Those fancy chargers sometimes require some bit of current to start charging or they just give you error messages.

I haven't typically put them in my street cars because I usually buy new cars and don't expect to keep the car long enough to justify the expense of the Optima when the original batteries die. One exception was the C5 Corvette we owned that would sometimes drain overnight if something (I forget what) was left on in for a few days without driving it. When that battery died prematurely an Optima went into it. When we sold the car I bought another battery for it and kept the Optima!

In reply to Basil Exposition: I bougt a yellow top for my Triumph which is what Optima recommends for the TR7. I presume thats because non of their red tops fit. Anyway the battery was trouble from day 1. Had a lot of e mail correspondence from Optima and the wind up was once their battery drops below 50% of charge it sulfates. After that, it may not hold a charge any longer. I have a good Schumacher charger with an AGM/deep cycle setting and it would charge up but start losing the charge almost immediatly! No, it wasn't the car. It would lose enough disconnected to fail to start the car within 1 week!
Optima says because when I got it, it had been sitting for 2 years it would no longer hold a charge. Sounds like that might be the case with any battery!!?? BTW, I have 2 redtops, oneon a car that sits for months and sometimes I will admit, I'm not religious about the charger for several weeks and it always starts up easily.
Now I have a trickle charger for all of my non daily drivers. I've had one of those on a conventionaal 7 year old battery . Always starts!

In reply to David S. Wallens:

I run nothing special in most of my vehicles, but one in particular deserves mention. Back in 1996 I bought a Optima Red for my CRX. When I sold the CRX (big mistake!), I transfered it to my Mustang. After being run dead 4 times, it is still in that mustang and working great. That's 15 years, folks. Makes me wonder why I buy anything else.

All my Optimas have been red tops. Maybe it is the yellow top that is the problem? I understand the yellows are for deep-cycle applications (golf carts, etc.) so could have something to do with that. Could also have been that one battery was defective.

In reply to Basil Exposition: It could be. My yellow top had sat for 2 years before I bought it. I'm not sure any battery could survine that. Optima told me how to decode the serial # on the side. The first digit on the sticker is the year of manufacture. Mine was an 8=2008. The store offered me a "fresh" battery from their warehouse. It was a 2007! I suspect yellow tops don't move like red tops. Beware!

By the way, quick update: The new battery works! Crazy, huh? I took the car to an event yesterday and never had a problem.

David S. Wallens wrote: I experienced a dead battery this weekend, but fortunately it happened in my own garage. I found a replacement locally but have a feeling that it will be a temporary measure since there are lots of options out there. That got me thinking, what's everyone else running for a battery these days: standard lead-acid, sealed AGM, one of those lightweight units or something else?

When I left an interior light on for an extended period and killed the battery in my last daily driver I yanked the battery out of my TR8 which was just a plain old Interstate battery. The Interstate battery was not as tall as the stock battery in my Land Rover which was some kind of Euro type battery. I concluded that since both vehicles had the venerable Rover V8 for power the Interstate should be right at home with a homemade lift block placed underneath to bring the emergency replacement up to the proper height. As things turned out, the local Land Rover dealer had Interstate batteries in stock and supplied plastic lift blocks to lift the Interstate up to the level of the OEM battery. I bought a new Interstate battery for the Land Rover and took a new lift block with the battery. I ended up going back for another fresh battery later for the TR8 when the TRs battery started getting weak. Which brings up another point that I feel needs to be mentioned. Keeping a battery load tester in your arsenal of tools is not a bad idea. Having a load tester to use to check a battery's charge and condition is a cheap and easy way to monitor your battery's condition. Be proactive. Get yourself a battery load tester and check your battery's condition once or twice through the year and replace your battery before it causes you grief.

David: Batteries to a car guy are just too simple. It is a little like running out of gas in a your classic car... a dirty little secret that no one will ever find out -ha. So we tend to ignore them and get that nasty surprise when they begin to fail. This is why I added my dead battery experience to tech tips about this time last year. It is too simple but sometimes a reminder helps. That standard off-the-shelf battery that you have will likely give very good service for many years.
Cheers Ron

BrianKern wrote: Have to agree with milanoverde. If your not driving the car very often it doesn't matter if your battery is standard lead-acid, AGM, or anything else. A sitting battery will lose charge, over time, and end up being no good. Get you self a trickle charger; it's cheaper then frequently buying new batteries. Schumacher has a 1.5 Amp tickle charger for around 35.00 dollars.

I must agree with Milanoverde as well. That is the best advice to have a battery on a trickle charger. There is no danger of overcharging the battery with the small amount of charge. Another tip that I might add is if you store the battery out of the car slide something under the battery to keep the battery off the floor. Even a slip of cardboard underneath insulates the battery and helps the battery keep it's charge.