Anyone have problems with the red tops not wanting to work when its REALLY cold out? The car wouldnt start the other morning when it was 3degrees out. Brought the battery inside the house cuz the jumper cables were garbage, in the hopes that a warm battery would start up fine. Well, after a few hours inside warming up, the battery started the car RIGHT UP, i mean NO hesitation. Batter worked fine the next day even though it was the same temp. Then this morning, no start. Take it up to where I bought it and they replace it no questions. So what im wondering is if this was just a bad battery or if Optimas are notoriously bad in the extreme cold.

 

Do a search, the optimas red tops are notoriously bad in all conditions. I tried one and it wouldnt even hold a charge for a week, I dealt with it for a month, then took it back and they gave me another one. I had the same exact problem with the second one, I went back to the duralast battery and have had no problems since.

 

In 10+ years of using them in street vehicles, motorhomes, DirtLateModels, and a boat, I've NEVER once had a problem with an Optima RedTop

 

I have been having alot of problems with my 1 year old battery. It will be changed in favor of a Delco in the next couple months..

 

No optima problems here, but doesn't get that cold. If they replaced it after a load test you got a bad one.

 

Yeah, they replaced it after a load test. Never had any problems with it before this week. It made it through last winter just fine. So im hoping it was just a bad battery. I guess well see.

 

Batteries go bad all the time, I've been through the original delco, sears diehard gold and now on optima since new - thinking heat is as bad as cold sometimes. Have a whopping 24,800 miles on my car....

 

I have had a red top for 4 years and all is fine

 

The Optima in my Winter beater doesn't seem to like the cold. If it's really cold (5 or below), it doesn't like to sit for more than a day or two. Warmer weather, it works fine. Not a good battery for cold conditions, imo.

 

yellow top where it is

 

Well it seems that the extreme cold will kill any non deep cycle battery. I live in the southeast so i may see a 20 degree day 2 or 3 times a year. Its usualy in the 70's here untill december and starts warming up in march. I also keep the car on a trickel charger when Im not gonna drive it for more than 3 days. That could help too.

 

Hi,
Do yourself a favour and buy an AC Delco battery.I have the AC Delco professional version with a six year warranty and the proper side-post terminals.
My car lives outside all year and starts up instantly in even very cold winter conditions even after standing for a few days.The battery kicks out 650cca and I would definitely recommend it.Cost me £100 ($200),but you could probably buy it for half that in the U.S.
All the best,Mark.

 

You can get a yellow top for 180 and a red top for 120. The optimas are a better battery imo. I have never had a delco, everstart, diehard, duralast ect last me more than a year or so. The redtop optima has outlasted everything. I have had the alt go out and the redtop last for 45 miles befor it was dead enough to shut the car down.

 

My car sat outside for 14 days whilst I was on vacation in the States and fired straight up like it had just been left overnight,upon return.
Optima batteries also require the use of a special battery charger if they go flat.So lets get this straight,Optimas don't like the cold,need a special charger and people recommend to hook them up to a charger if the car won't be driven for more than 3 days,not my idea of a good battery!
If an AC Delco professional battery is good enough for "Injuneer",then it's good enough for me.
This post is not a personal attack on "oneslowz28",just my opinion on the matter.
Very best regards,Mark.

 

We've been having a cold spell where it gets down to -30 lately, plus, i haven't used my block heater all winter and the red top still cranks over no prob in the jeep every morning. It definately doesn't have a hard time in the cold.

It's been a great battery so far.