Another battery question.

mark2m · **Posted:** Wed Sep 28, 2011 2:39 pm

Well my optima is starting to show signs of slowing down and before winter kills it I went and bought a new red top from amazon. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MS9VZA?ie=UTF8&force-full-site=1. Unforunately it looks like this group 34R optima has the post further inboard than the original and the negative lead doesn't reach. I do like the optima batteries and want to stay with it. Which optima have you guys used to replace the factory battery with.

Thanks
Mark

irollgen4s · **Posted:** Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:19 pm

recently my red top went out too, after 6 faithful years. But as others will tell you Optima moved their factories entirely to mexico, so their product has gone to hell, for lack of better words. They used to be 50/50 us/mexico, hence why some went bad prematurely, and some were tried and true, like mine and yours. I personally, just replaced mine with a Delco 750cca battery. Wasn't my top choice, but our mechanic had it in a few hours and its a bit stronger then the stock optima. starts better then she has since i got her

mikey1273 · **Posted:** Wed Sep 28, 2011 5:35 pm

Replaced mine with Advance Auto's Gold Group 34 put it in backwards. 800 CCA, less than $100 retail and better warranty than the Optima red top. may not be a fancy spiral cell unit you can use upside down under water or what ever they claim but it does the Job quite well and at a price that makes it a good value.

jeepdan · **Posted:** Wed Sep 28, 2011 9:40 pm

I had the same problem with the posts positioned slightly inward on the red top bought off the shelf at the local auto store. I would have had to special order the CRD specific battery, could not wait at the time.
You can make it work as I did by bending the battery terminal to clear the battery top, you may have to cut some of the harness tape to get some slack in the positive terminal.
I still prefer the Optima over the old lead acid technology because it eliminates any corrosion under the hood.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 9:40 am

Lots of options out there that are as good as or better than the current Optima red top. Any good sealed battery will work as long as the CCA rating is good, the dimensions are ok, and the posts work. The Interstate Mega-Tron Plus - 85 Months - 800 CCA will probably do. I'm using a Sears P-1 group 34 battery which fits just fine installed with the + post on the drivers side and only minor rebending of the - terminal. You should not have to do major surgery on the - wiring to make it work.

They typical problem you run into is the store looks at the "book" and immediately says only the factory red top will work, special order bring lots of $s which is a crock. You have to push them to actually check fit.

mark2m · **Posted:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 1:59 pm

Ah well it figures that Amazon doesn't do returns on hazmat. No big deal really. Should have probably just bought a more generic battery but I do like that optimas don't have the off gassing corrosion issues. Anyhow, since I can't return it I found a photo of cable extension but have no idea who makes it. Anybody seen these or know who makes them?

Thanks

cgass · **Posted:** Thu Sep 29, 2011 2:33 pm

You might be able to make one yourself. I've seen it done somewhere before. Get some 2 gauge wire and eyelets on one end and a battery terminal on the other. Basically just bolt the eyelets together and insulate it.

mark2m · **Posted:** Fri Sep 30, 2011 12:22 pm

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. I considered just bending the terminal as the guys above had done but that small extension cable would do the trick nicely. I can make one, just have to source the parts out. I'm getting lazy where I just want to buy it done lately. :-)

fastring · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2011 1:16 pm

http://www.sears.com/diehard-automotive ... 850034000P

FYI that I recently purchased a SEARS DieHard Platinum (similar to above) for my diesel Samurai. I'm thinking of going a similar route for the CRD once its battery dies. I recently purchased my 05 CRD but it appears that the battery is original (6yrs old). When I installed the new stereo, leaving the doors open all day was enough to kill the battery. It jump started and has been running fine since, but I have the feeling that it will be new battery time soon. I've had mixed success with Optimas but in general, I like the safety of the gel/fiberglass over the water acid type for most of my vehicles. The warranty on the DieHard platinum is MUCH better than the new Optima warranty and from what I've read, these are rebadged Odysey batteries, the glass fiberglass acid (can run them upside down/sideways like Optima) and the one for the Samurai weighed 50 pounds.

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Sat Oct 01, 2011 7:35 pm

1) Optima is crap.

2) Just bend the terminals a little, I've run into this problem lots of times before and it just makes sense to bend the terminal a little, doesn't do any harm and it means it will work with any 34R in the future for the next time the optima fails.

Ajamant · **Posted:** Fri Oct 07, 2011 8:36 pm

Lol...... Sir Sam let it go........ Optima's r not crap. R there better batteries, yes. But they r not crap.

I'm still waiting to hear your horror story that has so jaded u towards optimas???

AZ CRD · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 9:55 am

My OEM Optima survived four Phoenix summers. I replaced it with a Diehard Platinum 12/09. The platinum is dead after two summers. :dead:

It's a free replacement, but still.

****False alarm. The shop that did my breaks tested the battery and told me it failed. Apparently AGM batteries require a special test. Took it to Sears and it tested fine****

Joe Romas · **Posted:** Sun Oct 30, 2011 11:14 am

I've ALWAYS, since brand new in 2006, had slow starts when temperatures get to about 50 degrees or lower. Last fall I bought a new red top to see if it would help starting but it was the same. One morning last week I checked the voltage of the red top before starting and found it to be 12.4 volts :dizzy:

I've read ALL Liberties require good voltage or they won't start. I don't know if that's true or not. The next morning I charged it before starting to see if that helped. My automatic charger said it was full at 12.9 volts. Other batteries including my new AGM Die Hard P1 go highter before the charger shuts off. So then off to the Optima site and I found Red Top's full charge voltage is between 12.6 and 12.8 but at 12.9 my CRD started with out the extra cranking :juggle:

There is a thread about slow to start at cooler temperatures that I was reading and Scott recommended a Sears P1 Platinum Die Hard that is also a AGM battery with 880 CCA's to the Red Top's 800 CCA's so it was a no brainer :JEEPIN:

That was a week ago and everytime I start it up I'm amazed at how fast the starter cranks the engine :BINGO:

You can bend the ground clamp to use the red top you bought. Optima was bought by Johnson Controls and it seems quality has gone down :dead:

With the P1 the posts fit perfect but I needed to add a 4 inch piece of Valcro to fasten the blancket around it :mrgreen:

I'm now a believer. The one year old Red Top is working fine in my Wife's 2000 XJ that needed a battery so it was not a waste :SOMBRERO:

Sears P1
http://www.sears.com/diehard-automotive ... 850034000P

mark2m · **Posted:** Mon Oct 31, 2011 12:56 pm

I gave up on making the cable extension and just bent the terminal. Jeep started fine this morning. Got to wait until it drops to the single digits to really test it.

Mark

ebbnflow · **Posted:** Thu Nov 10, 2011 1:30 pm

Group 34 is correct. I just got my replacement at Costco for $80. Starts my jeep way better than the red top ever did.

papaindigo · **Posted:** Thu Nov 10, 2011 1:53 pm

The "R" just means the "+-" terminal posts are reversed. I think, not sure, the CRD is "supposed" to use an "R" but I fitted the Sears Platinum P-1 regular group 34 just fine. Installed with "+" on driver's side and that cable fit just fine with lots of extra; "-" cable was a bit tighter and did require a slight bit of added bend at the end but was not a big deal.

FYI the battery blanket won't fit a standard battery; I just trashed it.

mark2m · **Posted:** Thu Nov 10, 2011 2:04 pm

It depends on the battery. Either will work providing the regular group 34 has the terminals centered and towards the outside of the battery. Which is necessary for fitting the negative terminal without bending it. If I'm not mistaken it calls for a group 34R. That is the only complaint I have with the replacement Optima.

UFO wrote:

My original Optima is now failing in the colder weather, I've seen references to Group 34 and Group34R. Which one is it?

Edit: I got this application off Autozone's website...looks like a regular group 34

Quote:

Duralast Gold/Battery

For your 2005 Jeep Liberty 4WD 2.8L Turbo Diesel 4cyl
Price:
$107.99

Core*Core value is the used part that manufacturers use for rebuilding. AutoZone charges the core value to customers because manufacturers include it in their prices. When you return your core to AutoZone, we'll refund your core charge.:
$12.00

Total:
$119.99

Part Number: 34-DLG

UFO · **Posted:** Thu Nov 10, 2011 2:09 pm

My original Optima is now failing in the colder weather, I've seen references to Group 34 and Group34R. Which one is it?

Edit: I got this application off Autozone's website...looks like a regular group 34

Quote:

Duralast Gold/Battery

For your 2005 Jeep Liberty 4WD 2.8L Turbo Diesel 4cyl
Price:
$107.99

Core*Core value is the used part that manufacturers use for rebuilding. AutoZone charges the core value to customers because manufacturers include it in their prices. When you return your core to AutoZone, we'll refund your core charge.:
$12.00

Total:
$119.99

Part Number: 34-DLG

UFO · **Posted:** Thu Nov 10, 2011 2:10 pm

ebbnflow wrote:

Group 34 is correct. I just got my replacement at Costco for $80. Starts my jeep way better than the red top ever did.

Nice. I will look there before I pick up the Autozone battery.

ebbnflow · **Posted:** Thu Nov 10, 2011 5:14 pm

You don't have to scrap the battery blanket. I used a Velcro wire bundler to extend the Velcro on my blanket. It leaves about 4" of battery uncovered, but I feel some blanket is better than no blanket.

Another battery question.

Who is online