I had a diehard for years no problems, my lights would flicker a little bit when I had the bass pounding. then i got a redtop lights stopped flickering but if i didnt drive the car for 3 days it would be completely dead and wouldnt recharge. I brought it back to sears 3 times for a new one. finally i payed the difference and got a yellow top. i havent drivin my car for about 2 weeks but id start it every couple days. last time i started it was thurs it chugged a little bit but started right up. i went to start it again today and all the lights on the dash are dead the security light is barely on. I have a RF 1000.1 and 2 kenwood "600w" 2 channels. their hooked up properly and dont stay on when the car is off. im kinda baffled by whats going on. alt maybe?

 

It's interesting that your old battery worked with the existing alternator and now the Optimas don't. I've had a red-top in my Sierra 1/2 ton for almost 6 years and that beast always starts, with no problems. Good luck figuring yours out; I think you've come to the right place.

And FWIW, I'd try a 1 farad capacitor to help with your amplifier surges (lights flickering).

Good Luck.

 

sounds like a beat alternator to me...

 

Agreed!

Back when I was into doing stereo competitions with usac, I started checking into getting an upgraded alternator. I called one comapny (can't remember the name, but was a reputable one), and he asked what I was running and what kind of batteries. I told him I was fixing to upgrade to the yellow tops. The guy stops and said I can not warrenty my alternator with that battery.

Then he explains....

With a normal car battery, the alternator is only allowed to use some much of it to charge it. Hydralic batteries (as used in hydralic cars) need a little more and so the alternator does it. With the optima, if you kill the battery and have to jump start it, it will take everything that the alternator has to recharge the battery, even if it means burning out the alternator.

This was a few years ago, and I am sure technology has changed. But this is how it was explained to me. Which is why maybe your battery is always dieing. I would have the alternator tested, and get a battery charger on your battery and charge it.

Just my 2 cents..trying to help...

 

same thing happened to my 1986 firebird,i had a 1600 watt system, and the optima just died one day...replaced the ALT and it worked fine for about a year and just recently the battery died again... very strange... im thinking the alt went with it, is it wise to beef up a stock alt to fix this issue?

 

If you are running any kind of aftermarket sound system or alot of accessories, you might want to think about upgrading your alternator. The stock alternator usually is able to handle what the car has stock and not much more.
Pick up a car audio magazines and thumb through the advertisements in the back.

 

thats the thing, i have a battery charger, it dont work itll charge for like 5 minutes then start blinking, whenever i bring it back to sears they put it on one of their testers and it says the battery is completely dead and just give me a new one.

 

It takes longer than 5 minutes to charge a battery. Have you had the alternator tested?

 

haha no kidding thats what i mean it only trys to charge it for 5 minutes then i get the blinking light. im looking into ordering a 200 amp alt anyway....anyone know wheres a good place to get one?

 

I just saw 2 on ebay. One was a 200 amp and the other was 250 amps.

 

shouldaboughtthez explained the Optima recharge cycle just right. It is the same thing that the Interstate dealer told me. I have a heavy duty charger with a Jump Start function. I could not jump start the car with it when the battery was dead. It would also cycle off on the regular charge function if the battery went dead. I found that the best method for me was to use the 2 amp trickle charge function for a few hours to bring the battery up a little. Then, I could use the regular charge function to bring it the rest of the way up. It is a glutton for power, it just wants to eat when it has been starved.

PJ