Was having weak starts for a while with the factory battery failed to start so I decided to go get a new one I went with the Optima Yellow top because I have heard such great things. I installed the yellow top and the truck started great for about 15 days and then I got in it one morning and it was completely dead the needles on the gauges wouldn't even light up.

so I jumped it off drove it around brought it back and it was starting fine so I drove it to work thought maybe I had left something on. Wrong.

so the end of the work day I get in the truck to go home and it will not start same thing dead as a doornail.

take the battery back to O'Reilly they tested it and in the trucks defense it tested bad.

I got a brand new yellow top put it in the truck truck starts great for 3 days I got in it this morning to come to work and it was a weak start.

if it doesn't start or has a weak start when I try to go home today I'm going to be at a loss gents....two bad yellow tops in a row it's just hard to believe.

I dug around the tech folders I did a few searches here and other forms as well decided on this form to ask for help. I really hope that there isn't something inherently wrong with this truck or expensively wrong with the truck as I just paid it off and plan on keeping it for a very long time.

 

Test the alternator with the truck running. Maybe the belt isn't tight, or the alternator cables are loose, or the alternator is simply bad.

 

Should be putting out like 14v right?

 

2 bad in a row.. very possible... did you look for the production date.????? should have.

some batteries from factory to warehouse to store.. could be 5 to 10 months.. bad for a good battery.

Like Milk get the freshest..

most auto part stores, TEST charging systems for FREE.

a single bad connection can Stop a charging system... or a battery.

 

I can go get it checked

sticker said 12/16

 

anything over 14.3v (with no accessories ir lights on - just the engine running) would indicate the alternator is overcharging and killing the battery. Could also mean the voltage regulator in the alternator is bad, but that may be built into the alternator

 

10-4

I will go to O'Reilly at lunch

 

Since the charging system temperature compensates amp output, do not assume the alternator has failed until it is checked.

I know a lot of folks love the yellow tops, but if you search online reviews, you will also find a wide variance in owner reviews with a number of owners reporting early on failures, so have everything checked.

 

^^^ very important^^^
Also, did you transfer the blanket from the old battery to the new batteries?

 

In the Wrangler world batteries are a hot topic. Most wrangler owners in my area won't touch Optima anymore. I am surprised a Google search didn't bring up more stories like the one you are telling. Most people have jumped the Optima Ship to Sears Platinum. Personally I use the Exide batteries.

 

FWIW, my boss yesterday comes and says he needs help figuring out his truck('03 Sporttrac). He has all kinds of 'schtuff' on it. But it won't start and he has had this issues twice in the last week. Says he bought a battery about 6-8 weeks ago. He can't remember the name, but it has a yellow top. Hmm, i asked if it was a Optima. He says yes. Well I read this post over the weekend and told him he may have a bad battery and he does not need a Optima battery anyhow. So we go to the local parts store and test the battery. It is bad! He pays $200 for a brand battery and says he paid $400 for the yellow top off Amazon. I just chuckle! So now he has no core to turn in to the parts store, and he is going to have to try and get his $$ back from Amazon. I chuckle some more!!

You never know when the info from this site will come in handy!! FTE rocks!

 

He is not going to get his money back. Amazon says straight up they will not back the purchase and since Amazon is not a certified Optima distributor, Optima will not back it either. This information is also widely available on the Internet. I would not buy Optima from Amazon given recent reports from unhappy buyers.

Steve

 

I would not buy an Optima, nor would I buy a battery online. But, some people have more money than brains. Now I know which one my boss has!!

 

13.8 to 14.3 is the magic numbers for charging. BUT, these are for 80F, cold temperatures increase internal resistance in a battery so the correct voltages will be higher to compensate. In extreme cold 15 volts (or more) is not excessive. In extreme heat, want to see numbers on the low end.

Load up the alternator to test by turning on the lights, heater blower, and any accessories and run the idle RPM up to about 1500 or 2000 and measure voltage right at the battery posts. It will sag some but still need to see that 13.8 to 14.3 figure, more if it's real cold. Make sure all cable connections and grounding points are clean, and tight.

 

My '13 6.2 is on it's third battery. Original battery started getting weak after a year and it was replaced under warranty. Year later I left the truck at the dealer to get some warranty work done and they replaced the battery again because they said it failed the test. Now this spring I had the truck in for an alignment and thought the truck cranked a little slow so they tested it and sure enough the battery failed the test.

Don't know what's going on. All batteries were Motorcraft and were current production at the time. Up until this fall the truck spent most of it's time sitting in the garage(sometimes for a full week or two) since I had a work truck to drive during the week so maybe that's what was killing the batteries.