Optima Yellow Top won't start after sitting few days

Update

So I borrowed a friend's multimeter today and voltage reads 12.3. I'll have to wait till wife gets home so I can jump start and take another reading to see if alternator is good.I'm wondering if the daystar locker switch I added beginning of summer is slightly drawing current. It is in the off position but it's wired directly to the battery :thinking:
 
nmwranglerx said:
So I borrowed a friend's multimeter today and voltage reads 12.3. I'll have to wait till wife gets home so I can jump start and take another reading to see if alternator is good.I'm wondering if the daystar locker switch I added beginning of summer is slightly drawing current. It is in the off position but it's wired directly to the battery :thinking:
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Highly unlikely. It shouldn't be drawing anything if its in the off position.
 
If the battery is reading 12.3v and it wont start the jeep then you have no cranking amps left at all.. put the tester on the battery and have someone turn the key to start it.. if it goes to 0 volts your battery is no good. Or you can get a battery tester and it will tell you how many cranking amps you have left and will tell you if the battery is good or not.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using WAYALIFE mobile app
 
nmwranglerx said:
Thanks for all replies guys. If a new battery is in order, I don't think id go for optima again. Serg, will any volt meter work? Is there a specific process for measuring or just touch meter leads to battery? Please excuse my electrical ignorance
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I would agree with not purchasing another optima. I have alot of friends prerunner trucks and have seen alot of them fail!!! The only optimas I still see working after a good period of time are the ones that where made in the u.s.

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I would highly recommend getting an Oddyessy Battery

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Update: jump started jeep today. Used multimeter to read voltage. That gave me 14.7 with jeep running so I guess alternator is good. Guess I'll take battery in and tested more thoroughly. Only other thing it could be is starter I guess
 
2013rubirick said:
If the battery is reading 12.3v and it wont start the jeep then you have no cranking amps left at all.. put the tester on the battery and have someone turn the key to start it.. if it goes to 0 volts your battery is no good. Or you can get a battery tester and it will tell you how many cranking amps you have left and will tell you if the battery is good or not.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I537 using WAYALIFE mobile app
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Yep, you nailed it. Put it on load tester at batteries plus and only had 140 cranking amps at 12.5v. Heading to sears to look for new battery
 
I got an Auto zone battery 8yr limited warranty. Went out after 4yrs, they replaced it for free.
 
Here's what I ended up with:
ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1385868293.836652.jpg

ImageUploadedByWAYALIFE1385868325.545844.jpg

I found out if you purchase online and pick up at store you save about $23. Also found a promo code that saved me another $5. Put price just above $200. Now I need to decide if a trickle charger is something I need. I only drive jeep on weekends during winter months. I'm trying to keep around town mileage down as best I can to save for longer off road trips during warmer months. Thanks everyone for input!
 
NFRs2000NYC said:
To be the bearer of bad news, the sears die hard platinum batteries are no longer made by odyssey. That contract was not renewed. The new contract is with Johnson Controls. Having said that, so long as they are making them to the same spec with quality virgin lead, I think it would still be a fine battery. I used to love optima (had yellowtops in all my vehicles) but their quality has gone downhill, and fast. Almost everyone I know has been having issues with their optimas, and their answer is "user error." Not only that, they went on my sh!tlist when they recieved a batch of bad lead, which caused the failure of tens of thousands of batteries (and they knew about it) but still refused to honor their warranties. I will never buy another optima product again, it is pure snakeoil now. Still with the diehard platinum or the odyssey units.
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"OPTIMA® batteries are Johnson Controls' premium brand of auto, marine and ..." from ...

http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/cont...ions/about-power-solutions/global-brands.html
 
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BBrown626 said:
"OPTIMA® batteries are Johnson Controls' premium brand of auto, marine and ..." from ...

http://www.johnsoncontrols.com/cont...ions/about-power-solutions/global-brands.html
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Correct, Diehard Batteries are produce by EnerSys, and not Johnson Controls.

http://www.enersys.com/


Sears pulled out all the stops when they introduced their Diehard Platinum battery line. Sears has been known for many years for their dependably Diehard Batteries. Diehard Batteries were introduced to consumers in the 1960’s, and were branded that they would last forever. They stood behind the Diehard battery for as long as the owner owned the car for which the battery was originally installed. Over time due to the economy and better quality vehicles, people kept their vehicles for longer periods of time. Sears was forced to stop the “Forever” policy. However, Sears did continue to forge forward with their well known and accepted Diehard battery line.
Sears did their homework when they searched for a battery manufacturer to work with them on their new Diehard Platinum battery line. They obviously were searching for the next generation of ultimate Diehard power. EnerSys the worlds largest industrial battery manufacturer was capable of exactly that. Enersys and Sears worked together to bring the next generation of Diehard power to another level. The new Diehard batteries would turn out to be AGM(Absorption Glass Mat) composition. These new AGM batteries made up of a composition of lead paste absorbed into fiberglass matting. This new design did away with free acid inside the battery. The new Diehard could be punctured, and still not leak any acid. The new design was also very resilient to extreme vibration. Cold and hot temperatures were also not much of a issue with this new bullet proof design. Sears accomplished exactly what they had set out to do.
The Diehard Platinum battery line consists of eight elite batteries. Diehard is only one of two battery brands to offer such a wide selection of AGM battery composition. The other battery brand is Odyssey also made by Enersys, go figure. Sears numbered their new Diehard Platinum batteries for easy consumer selection. The P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6, PM1, and PM2. The P stands for Platinum, the M stands for Marine, and the number represents the battery group number. Below is a review of the Diehard Platinum batteries with each batteries manufactured specifications.

The P-1 Platinum Automotive Battery group number 34 from DieHard offers 135 minutes of reserve capacity and 880 cold cranking amps.
The P-2 Platinum Automotive Battery group number 65 from DieHard offers 135 minutes of reserve capacity and 930 cold cranking amps.
The P-3 Platinum Automotive Battery group number 75/86 Dual Terminal from DieHard offers 90 minutes of reserve capacity and 710 cold cranking amps.
The P-4 Platinum Automotive Battery group number 34/78 Dual Terminal from DieHard offers 135 minutes of reserve capacity and 880 cold cranking amps.
The P-5 Platinum Automotive Battery group number 35 from DieHard offers 100 minutes of reserve capacity and 740 cold cranking amps.
The P-6 Platinum Automotive Battery group number 25 from DieHard offers 100 minutes of reserve capacity and 740 cold cranking amps.
The PM-1 Platinum Marine Battery group number 31 from DieHard offers 205 minutes of reserve capacity and 1150 cold cranking amps.
The PM-2 Platinum Marine Battery group number 34 DieHard offers 135 minutes of reserve capacity and 880 cold cranking amps.
 
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You guys are right, I mixed up my batteries. Optimas are made by Jonhson Controls and Die Hard Platinums are made by Enersys. Supposedly the regular die hards are still made by Johnson Controls. Having said that, it also seems that Enersys owns Odyssey.
 
I've done some plumbing at the Johnson Controls factory here in Fort Wayne and watched them get built, it was interesting. I enjoy seeing how things are made. They all look the same as they follow each other down the line, then the stickers get put on and that is all the difference of some of them.
 
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