I need a quality battery.

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mopardude318

mopardude318

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Hello. Time for a new battery. The one I had is no good, 6 years old and no longer charges...( I did put it on the charger for a few hours, but the gauge on the battery charger shows the battery was not taking voltage) I installed it anyway just to drive my car for the weekend, and during that time it leaked acid everywhere and messed up my paint, chewed up some of my wires and corroded my battery tray and bolts...I immediately threw it in the garbage. I cleaned everything up replaced as needed, and now I need a GOOD battery.

I now prefer Gel or Dry Cell batteries. No more lead/acid batteries.

What do you guys use? I heard theres only 3 major manufacturers: delphi, exide, johnson controls ind.

Which specific ones do yall like, and where should I get it.

Thank you.
 
Optima is good,So is Orbitals.Optimas used to be available at Costco,a while back.Orbitals,shop around.
 
if you dont want to break the bank with Optima, try Interstate batteries, had mine for 5 years best damn battery for the money!
 
Got my optima yellow 3 years ago at advance auto for like 149.
 
Scratch Delphi from your list of manufacturers. They're made by Johnson Controls. Interstate is also made by JC & is made to quality specifications. Deka is another good brand made in the USA. But these are Lead acid batteries not AGM like Optima. AGM batteries you can pretty much kick them around & they won't make a mess.
 
A & A auto has optima yellow on sale right now for 129. cant beat that price.
 
We have a yellow optima in one car and it is not designed for automotive use from what I understand when talking to them. We had issues with charging the battery because it behaves like a deep cycle. Takes a long time to charge and supposedly is not designed for starting a car. For the longest time it was always low or dead and we finally talked to optima. They advised us to use a trickle charge at 5 amps for 30 hours. Pretty much occasionally trickle charge it to keep it fresh. I tell you they wont charge up on a regular mopar alternator when they are dead or low. Upgraded alternator, still did the same..
Regular car batteries and I think the red optimas can charge more quickly at high rate.

I recently purchased a heavy duty napa "dual purpose" battery for like 120 and it is heavy, spins a motor like a top and has loads of reserve. I just got the one with the most cca, amps and reserve minutes.
 
I have two Optima Yellow Tops in my 4x4. Stock Ford charging system using a solenoid as an isolator. No issues with the Yellow Tops not fully charging from the alternator.:dontknow:
 
Dauralast gold top from autozone. Just replaced after 20 years of shows and storage. Get a cheap trickle charger from harbor freight works great.
 
inkjunkie said:
that is more $$ than i paid for my last optima.....and the optima has dual posts....
Click to expand...

Well, Optima is now made by JCI. After they took over, I have read many complaints and problems about them, and was told by a few of my other car buddies to stay away from them. Maybe you got one before JCI took over...who knows...??

I didn't want dual posts :)
 
Still using a traditional lead-acid battery in all my cars, but I put a Battery Mat underneath to neutralize any spills. Haven't had a car that wasn't rusty under the battery before I found the mat.
 
I have the Autozone Gold ones. 7 year free replacement or Optima
 
I run Optima red top on everything for years & very happy with their products !
 
Lots of choices. First the duralast gold is a good battery. But is still an acid filled battery and I have seen plenty of those returned, or swapped out for another one. The warranty for the duralast gold is 8 years. Here's the catch, the first 3 years is free replacement, the last 5 is pro-rated. So at most after the 3 years your battery would only be worth $45 dollars.

Optima costs you about $225 out the door. Those come with a 3 year free replacement. Some say they are good some say they are junk now. I will let you decide on that one.

Duralast platinum $144 dollars (tax not included) 3 year warranty, and for those 3 years its free replacement. It is an AGM battery. No acid to spill in your battery tray very durabule and and you get the same warranty as the Optima but you save yourself a couple $$$ witch isn't a bad thing.

Go online do your own research, look up all the batteries mentioned, or that you are interested in and decide from there and let up know.

Thanks, Aj
 
Optima red here -no problems and no charging issues unless YOU let it drain down to nothing THEN follow the charging directions and they will come back,It all comes down to following directions which I believe the people with issues DON"T do because they throw the charging instructions away when they purchase and treat it like a acid filled battery--Steve
 
The fact that you ran a bad battery and it made a mess is not the batterys' fault.
I'm surprised that you didn't smell the acid before the mess got too bad.
 
swifter said:
Optima red here -no problems and no charging issues unless YOU let it drain down to nothing THEN follow the charging directions and they will come back,It all comes down to following directions which I believe the people with issues DON"T do because they throw the charging instructions away when they purchase and treat it like a acid filled battery--Steve
Click to expand...

i've run my optima down to nothing numerous times and treated it like a normal battery. its still going strong at close to 7 years old..
 
If the optimas get too dead some chargers wont register that they are attached to a battery. You have to put jumpers from the battery to a good battery and charge the pair.
 
Don't buy an optima, you guy's that are having good luck with them have older ones that are great and made in the USA. About 3 years ago they switched to being made in Mexico, they are junk now. I know the batteriesplus I used to work at quit selling them because they couldn't handle all of the warranty claims.
 
If you change your mind, find the lightest,cheapest group 24 you can find.
Key word being lightest. :burnout:
Autozone has a great battery replacement if necessary.
 
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