Optima Yellow Top keeps draining??

**yody** · 07-07-2005

I redid the entire electrical system in my car, including an alarm, power locks, windows, elec pump/fan, MSD, stereo system, courtesy lights, HID headlights, and all kinds of other crap, I have a ton of grounds and everything was done correct. However my NEW yellow top optima battery goes dead after 4-6 weeks. It will start the car twice a week and then will just die off and won't do anything. I only run the car for about a minute at a time, but the alternator is charging. I had the battery charged and the machine said the battery was good. Could i have a short? or is starting the motor up killing the battery, and only running it for a minute isn't giving it enough to re-charge the battery?

Sponsored Links

**NDubs68** · 07-07-2005

i work at a napa auto parts and lately we have had a lot of optimas do the exact same thing as you are describing. i would say that they have had a bad batch of batteries cuz in the last 4 months we have had to send 8 back for warranties. i know this doesnt really help you at all but just thought i would let you know wuts been happening with those. oh and also if it doesnt test or show bad they will not be able to warranty it.

hope that helps,
Nick

**Martin71RS** · 07-07-2005

or is starting the motor up killing the battery, and only running it for a minute isn't giving it enough to re-charge the battery?

Bingo.....

do you know how many amps you draw when starting?? A LOT!
besides that, your alarm and radio will draw a bit too when the car is shut off (ignition off), not much...but still...

my yellowtop still gets the courtesy light to burn (weak) after 7 months of standing still

radio and remote door opener are the guilty ones with me.

Martin

**zbugger** · 07-07-2005

Cody, the yellow top is a deep cycle battery. It will take a little longer to charge up. Running it for a minute does nothing to charge it. It will only give it a surface charge. When I had it hooked up, I'd run my car for 5-10 minutes at a time at least once a week. It charged fine. And mine is a red top. Run the car longer and you should see a difference.

**Martin71RS** · 07-08-2005

Allen, don't forget at idle the charge isn't that great....I have a 160amp alternator which deliveres I believe 60% at idle...when you have a normal 40~80 amp one it will be a lot less....so driving it for 5-10 minutes is different from having it idle for that period......

**yody** · 07-08-2005

I too have a 160 amp alternator and when i am runnign it, i am usually running it, letting someon hear the motor etc. I also don't let it idle to long because idling kills solid rollers

**Blown353** · 07-08-2005

Starting the car for only a minute at a time? I hope you like condensation buildup, acidic byproducts in the oil, and internal rust in the engine, because that's exactly what you're going to get running it for only a minute at a time. If you're not going to let it run long enough to get the oil hot enough to boil off any moisture (and it'll never get hot enough without actually driving it), that's far worse than not running it at all. Short trips and short running periods are HARD on the engine because it never gets hot enough to burn off/boil off contaminants, and they just continue to build up in the crankcase. I've seen the insides of motors in show-only cars with less than 50 miles that are absolutely NASTY-- surface rust everywhere, pitted bearings, etc. Why? Because the only run time these cars ever see was 2-3 minutes at a time going on and off a trailer. Do your engine and oil a favor and either take it out and drive it and get it good and hot or don't run it at all!

As far as the battery problem, I seriously doubt one minute of run time is enough to charge the battery after it just served up a couple hundred amps for the starter. That's probably why it's going dead, it needs more charge time after cranking the starter.

Troy

**zbugger** · 07-08-2005

Originally Posted by Martin71RS

Allen, don't forget at idle the charge isn't that great....I have a 160amp alternator which deliveres I believe 60% at idle...when you have a normal 40~80 amp one it will be a lot less....so driving it for 5-10 minutes is different from having it idle for that period......

Yeah, I know that Martin. My 140 amp alternator put out around 60-80 at idle. Not only that, but I wouldn't just let it idle. I varied the RPM's and always made sure it ran at operating temperature for about 5 minutes. I might sound lazy to some, but I was always checking the plugs after running it too. That and checking the oil. Then again, I could just never get enough of how the car sounded either.......

**yody** · 07-08-2005

Well after the guidance of Mrquick here is what i did today;
Disconnected the negative battery cable, then put my multimeter on "Amps" and put on lead on the batterys negative terminal and the other lead on the ground cable

With everything in teh car connected I get an amp draw of 2.09. So i disconnected everything, then i get a draw of .01, which is fine, I then pulled all the fuses out of my Painless wiring fuse block, still get it, then i disconnect my alternator which is a powermaster 160 amp one wire, and the amp draw goes away, so i think it is the alternator, so i leave that disconnected and plug all my fuses back in, and now i have the amp draw again!!!

Then I disconnected everything and started putting fuses in one at a time, Each circuit is pulling amps like .38, .55, .68 and so forth??? Then i find the battery source for the radio is pulling 1.80 so i think that is it, so i have no fuses in the block but the battery radio fuse and disconnect the stereo plug and now no amp draw, so i think thats it. Well i put it in all the fuses except for the radio ones and walla is still have the amp draw!!!!

So now I am officially going crazy, what could be going on here:????? Could it be something with the grounds? i have all the proper grounds, in fact i have ground overkill??? What could cause this???? HELP!

**ProdigyCustoms** · 07-09-2005

Very simple. If the battery has ever gone dead, optima's cannot be charged with conventional charging methods. They must be recharged in series with a conventional battery. You have to hook a battery up to your charger and then hook that up to the optima.
I will bet it all if you charge the battery with a regular battery charger, it will turn the car over like mad, and if it fires quick fine. But the truth is it is only a strong surface charge, and has no ass behind it.
Find a interstate dealer, they have a specific load test for Optimas. I am betting it is only 60% charged. Optimas are great, but if you let one go dead by accident, it sucks. Been here, Done this, Got a T shirt!

**yody** · 07-09-2005

what do you think about my amp draw?

**ProdigyCustoms** · 07-09-2005

I do not know. most new cars have enough of a draw to kill a battery, how much I don't know. I just know once that optima is dead, it takes a act of god to restore it.

**Rick Dorion** · 07-10-2005

Frank, even the deep cycle needs that charging procedure?

**ProdigyCustoms** · 07-10-2005

Originally Posted by Rick Dorion

Frank, even the deep cycle needs that charging procedure?

When I had a problem with my red top, Interstate told me even the deep cycle needed that charging procedure. Which really made no sense. But that is what they say, even though the battery is designed to be drained and recharged. Interstate also told me the yellow top was not exactly Optimas proudest moment, and does not push the yellow to hard. The red top, that is a different story, long as you do not let it go dead.
What I do not know is what is a acceptable draw, and how long it takes to kill a battery at what amp draw. My street racer has a draw from the volts meter. When Michael wired the car some years ago, he wired the volt meter on constant instead of ignition, so it draws some amount. To be honest though, it is one of those lazy things we never changed, and never checked the amount of the draw. We just unhook the battery anyway when it is parked. But I can tell you the volt meter draws enough to kill a perfect battery in 2 to 3 weeks DEAD!

**jeffandre** · 07-10-2005

Would installing a dual disconnect (for battery and alternator) solve this problem? Who makes the best one for high amp systems?

**hessdawg** · 07-21-2005

2 amps with key off is killing it. ii seem to remember some sort of wiring diagrahm where you had to add a resistor or something like that for the 160 1 wires. call power master and explain they prob have a fix

**MrQuick** · 07-21-2005

I think we got er licked, da dipstick was reading milli amps and he is just not getting a good charge cycle to keep the battery alive. Now for the brakes....aaaarrrrgggggg

**gmachinz** · 07-23-2005

I wonder about something. You said it is a one-wire? You do realize that the one-wires while they are self-exciting, do not have the ability to provide a load-sensing circuit to allow the regulator to pass more current to your accessories? Otherwords, the alternator will only charge the battery at a rate of about 15-20 amps @ idle. The rest goes to your accessories but until you have reached a specific RPM range, the alternator will not up the amperage. Example: let's say the amperage output is 60 @ idle. Now, add up the current draw of all your accessories that are hot with ignition on (MSD box, electric fans, headlights, stereo amplifiers, etc.) If they add up to more than 60, you are in trouble, unless you keep the RPM above the "exciting" range which can be a PITA in traffic or at idle. Sticking with the three wire CS design and re-wiring the system to read amperage draw through the voltage sensing circuitry is the best way to go. I have no problems with optima batteries and I stay clear of one-wire alternators. Call Mark at Mad Electrical (559-539-7128) and he'll tell you what he thinks of one-wire alternators. I install modified CS GM alternators up to 200 amps and even with my standard 140-amp versions, never any drain issues. Also, a digital multimeter can be too sensitive when it comes to finding an amp draw. I have better success using a test light as a bridge between the neg. post and neg. cable-if it lights, you have a drain. I had a stupid draw (3 amps) that would kill my battery after only three days. Turns out my +12v wire lead to the heated side of my O2 sensor was wired direct instead of key on only-oops. -Jabin

**79T/Aman** · 07-23-2005

also make sure that you are not charging it at more than 14.4 volts this will kill the batt. ask me how I found out after 3 new batteries.

**dalefanatic38** · 07-23-2005

i work at advance auto parts and we are getting alot of red tops back.

Enter your username:
Do you want to login or register?	I want to create an account To login, enter your password:
Enter your password:
Forgot your password?	Stay logged in

Login / Register Close Panel

Thread: Optima Yellow Top keeps draining??

Display

Optima Yellow Top keeps draining??

Drawing amps

Dual disconnect?

to much draw