If it holds voltage when disconnected from your vehicle, but loses voltage when connected, there is probably an electrical issue in your vehicle that need to be addressed.I've bought Optima batteries online at 1st Optima Battery Sales before with good results (fresh battery, full warranty, etc). If you can fully-charge your RedTop and leave it disconected from your vehicle for 12-24 hours, it should hold close to it's maximum voltage. If your parasitic draw measures 25 milliamps or less, it is possible there are either issues with your charging system or your battery was never fully-recharged from the previous issues you had. If not, our Tech Tips #7 video on YouTube explains how to measure a parasitic draw and track down the source. In looking at some of your other posts, it appears as if you've had some past issues with your wiring and/or a parasitic draw, which I hope have been resolved. I should start by saying our RedTops are fully-charged at approximately 12.6-12.8 volts. These are OK too, but the multi-stage chargers are a better option.įleebag, I'm sorry to hear about the problems you've been having with your battery. For float-charging, we recommend 1 amp max, 13.2-13.8 volts. Traditional “float” chargers provide constant voltage with tapering amperage to the battery, even when it is fully-charged. Some of these multi-step chargers are also capable of being regular battery chargers (7 amps or more). Multi-stage maintainers will charge at varying voltages and varying amperage (rarely exceeding 2 amps). Fully-automatic, “multi-stage or multi-step” chargers will monitor the battery and charge it as necessary. The best units are microprocessor-controlled and there are two basic types of maintenance chargers. Charging at up to 10 amps at the track is ok as well, but we do not recommend charging at a higher rate than that.įor long-term charging, we recommend using a quality battery tender or maintainer. As I mentioned before, if the battery gets hot to the touch or begins venting, charging should be discontinued immediately. This higher rate will help break up some of the sulfation that has formed and restore some performance. Hi Donnie, we frequently recommend a 10-amp charge for up to two hours on batteries that have been deeply-discharged and allowed to sit for extended periods of time. If anyone has any questions about our batteries, I'll do my best to answer them. I can't speak as to the mechanical benefits of periodically starting and idling a stored vehicle, but this practice may actually do more harm than good to a battery, if the alternator is not given enough time to replace the energy used during storage and starting. When any battery is discharged below 12.4 volts and allowed to sit, sulfation begins to diminish both capacity and lifespan. If a vehicle does not see regular use, a quality battery tender or maintainer is an excellent investment. Our batteries can be charged at rates up to 10 amps, but if the battery gets hot to the touch or begins venting, charging should be discontinued immediately. AGM-specific chargers are preferred, but “gel” or “gel/AGM” charger settings should be avoided, as they will not fully-charge an Optima and could damage it over time. I can't speak for other AGM battery manufacturers, but most standard chargers will work just fine on Optimas. We created a Tech Tip video on our YouTube channel (OptimaBatteries) that also explains this procedure. Wiring the discharged battery in parallel with a charged battery allows the charger to “see” a battery and deliver current to the discharged battery. The problem is that many chargers will not recognize or charge any battery that has been discharged below a certain voltage level (usually around 10.5 volts). In fact, some companies will void the warranty on their battery if it is found to be discharged below 10 volts. Fastdavedk, the issue you are referring to is a charger-related issue and not specific to Optima.
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