Hissing Optima

[69CamaroRacer]

I have a red top optima that only has about 500 miles on it and recently I have notice it seems to be kind of week starting and the thing that has really got my attention is I can hear a pronounced Hissing that is comming from the pos side vent on top of the battrie. Is this normar? I have checked my alt and at the most it is putting out 14.4 at the back of the alt and 14.1on the battrie. After the car is turned off the battrie shows around 11.8-12.1 V. Any input here you could give would be most helpful.

[MrQuick]

is it getting hot? how old is it? my in-stank says throw it as far as you can and run! Or sell it to someone LOL

[BonzoHansen]

Call them.

[69CamaroRacer]

i went and talked to advanced auto and the parts guy there said he would exchange it no problem... I have tested it in the past and it would never drop more than a volt under a load but tonight it went from 12.3 down to 7.9 under load so I know it is bad... It is cool haveing an old car sometimes the guy at the store didn't give me any hassel at all he just wanted to look under the hood.

And just to answer a few questions the bat was about 6mo old and it only has 500 miles on it...

[MrQuick]

they will most likely tell you its being overcharged...where Cam when we need him?

[OHCbird]

14.1 to 14.4 is OK; the 11.8 to 12.1 after shut down is not. When you measure after shut down, is everything off (electric H2O pump, stereo, lights, etc)? A properly charged battery should read 12.7-12.8 volts after 'shutdown'.

Any optima that makes noise ain't good- get the new battery.

[ProTeal55]

If an optima battery is hissing , it DEF. means it is overcharged, which could be a very bad thing.

About a year ago my buddy forgot that he left a battery charger on his redtop optima. The battery was in the rear hatch of his 1994 Formula Outlaw stock car. We were pulling the motor when we heard something hissing in the rear of the car.

We didn't think anything about it , and continued to work. About a 1/2 hour later , the battery exploded and took the better part of his rear window with it...

[69CamaroRacer]

here is an update.. I talked to optima and they said that it probably had an internal short.. so I took it back and got another one.. no questions asked.. Everything is fine now