Dead Battery
 

Last month, 23 Dec battery was dead. Driver's seat was fully declined. My seat cover strap had pushed the seats reclining button down when i got out of the car the night before so i figured that killed the battery over night.
Last night, 4 Jan i went out to the car to retrieve my work ID and the battery is dead again this time the seat wasn't the culprit which may mean it may not had been then, just a coincidence that it happened. In the first instance i fully recharged the battery and the car had been running and starting just fine even in temps below 30 degrees F......Right now the battery is so dead that even the interior lights aren't coming on, which is the way it was 23 Dec....I'm guessing something is drawing the battery. I can eliminate the visors because they are not connected. Disconnected them way back when i kept reading some folks were having problems with them drawing the battery.
Also it's a Red Top Optima battery which i had to replace about a year ago due to a dead cell.......I'm getting ready to recharge the battery and check the alternater's output.....I really feel something is drawing the battery if even the interior lights are out........Any suggestions are welcomed......

THANKS

Re: Dead Battery
 

Well the battery only had 1.6 Volts charge on it......Tried charging it and got a FO1 code, internal shorted cell replace battery....This is what i got before so back to Auto Zone this battery goes....Don't think i'll ever purchase another Red Top battery....Normally i just go to the Battery Warehouse and tell them to give me their best suggested battery and i've never had a problem. They've always lasted for years......

Re: Dead Battery
 

Henry,
I had the same problem with a Red Top :mad: I'm on #2, as my battery in in the trunk, thus I've got to have a sealed battery to pass safety inspections...
-Bill

Re: Dead Battery
 

I was going to say, bill was having similar problems with his red-top. Yellow tops are working well in the cars I have put them in.

Tom

Re: Dead Battery
 

I have used a red top for over 3 years now with no problems whatsoever. Ran it dead once in my cutlass because I left the glove box open with it in storage. My friend has one as well and has had no problems for over 2 years.

Just pointing out that not all of them are bad. Just bad luck for some people I guess.

Re: Dead Battery
 

Well i may have gave the yellow top a try but after returning 2 Optima batteries i had enough.....Went with a Duralast Gold with the same warranty and more cranking power than the Optima...With the pro rated price of the Optima i was out the door with the new Duralast for less than $20.....I'll install it either late tonight or early morning. don't get off tonight until 9Pm. the Red top was more than 3 years old.....

Re: Dead Battery
 

I believe one can harm an Optima battery by using a "normal" battery charger without an "AGM/GEL" mode. Can anyone verify that?

Re: Dead Battery
 

Yes, that will harm it. You need to use whats commonly called a "trickle" charger or one that is specialized for them. They need to be charged up with a smaller charge. I got one off of ebay a few years ago for something like $40. It has separate settings for normal auto batteries, the deep cell battery and motorcycle batteries.