Boys got bit in the ass by an Advance auto parts battery..story to tell

[AAKVIPER]

Around June 2011 I replaced my car battery for good measure on my 1994 RT-10.

My mistake then begun, I opt to go to Advance Auto parts and ended up purchasing the Gold version group 78 battery. Paid $80 for it and it was the store's equivalent for the OEM Viper battery. The red top Optima was next to it at $180.00...hummmm. I do not need that for my Viper, I drive it once every week for 10 miles or so in summer.

All was well and dandy, that summer I had the head gaskets done and the car was running well as it was new after this procedure. So fast forward to this last Sunday.

I went to gas up the RT-10 for a nice ride that day. Turned the engine off, then my day began to **** from that point on. The Viper would not start and the famous clicking started with the key turn to the start position. Nice, now I had to get a jump start..but what the hell was going on with a 6 month old battery? It took about five minutes to get the battery to hold a charge enough to get it started.
It finally cranked over and I limped back to my garage. The whole time I was pissed as hell.

Ok, then I pulled of the battery round inspection window in the rear trunk of the car, and put a light to the battery, and the battery side and battery tray was wet but thank God that was all that was wrong. I pulled the battery out and one could see battery white powder and fluid seeping out the caps from the top of the battery. Went back to Advance Auto got the battery pro rated, then put the difference in money into the Optima red top Battery VIPER Part Number: 78 (8078-109). Should have done that in the first place. Alway had Optima yellow and red Battery version in my cars and never a failure.

You get what you paid for, now the red top Optima has a gel component not battery fluid. No leaks and a well built battery to boot. Has anybody had a battery crap out so fast? If so I bet it was a cheapy...
Arthur

 

[DrumrBoy]

Not on a Viper but, yes, some really cheap store-brand batteries can be very poor (can be good too, its just Russian Roulette IMO). Now I go for Sears Diehard Platinum and all is well.

 

[bluesrt]

you may want to make shure its not overchargeing and boiled the acid up otta the vents

 

[AAKVIPER]

If this so, what voltage would mean that an overcharge is occurring?

I must check with the motor running, right?

Arthur

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

You should always have a sealed battery in a Viper. Most cars its easy to pop the hood and inspect them to be sure they aren't leaking. Not so in a Viper.

 

[1994viper]

"battery round inspection window in the rear trunk of the car"? Does my 94 has it also?

 

[bluesrt]

Re: If this so, what voltage would mean that an overcharge is occurring?

I must check with the motor running, right?

Arthur

take it by somewhere and have the charge system checked

 

[JonB]

You may have charging issues.
You may have battery-tray-temp-sensor issues.
You may even have a wiring issue at the battery.

If you search info on batteries here, not many folks recommend the Optima....NUMEROUS threads on battery recomendations

Good Luck

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

"battery round inspection window in the rear trunk of the car"? Does my 94 has it also?

Never heard of that on a Gen 1 or 2.

 

[JonB]

The Year Matters! Even within Generations.....

 

[AAKVIPER]

John thanks again for you help...

I went looking for a battery temperature sensor on the tray..no luck and not even the wiring is present....Do all gen 1's have this item..?

Arthur

 

[bluesrt]

should have i thought

 

[AAKVIPER]

John is correct again...no Battery tep senor on the Gen 1..not sure about the Gen 2..

Arthur

 

[Wezbad1]

Always use a battery tender. It solves most battery related issues due to the battery always being fully charged. Its just less wear an tear on the whole electrical system.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Ok, then I pulled of the battery round inspection window in the rear trunk of the car...

Where is this at? Actually in the trunk? Have a pic?

 

[RevHeat]

I am not an Optima fan, but at least it wont leak on you.

 

[bluesrt]

the poor rap those optima batteries get is halarious, a few say yuck and the whole crowd yells yuck,,lol

 

[redtanrt10]

Always use a battery tender. It solves most battery related issues due to the battery always being fully charged. Its just less wear an tear on the whole electrical system.

X2

I bought a decent battery for my 94 RT/10 from Kragen auto parts 4 or 5 years ago. With infrequent starting or driving the battery would go dead within 6 months. Could jump it but quit holding a charge. So, I'd pull the battery and take it back to Kragen who replaced it for free. After about the 3rd visit the counter guys said you need to drive the car, but I told him the warantee doesn't say that and they gave me another new battery.

So the last time it went dead and I had to push it out of the garage. Didn't think and wrenched my lower back. So then with a real bad lower back I had to lay on the ground and pull and replace the battery

Had a battery tender ever since, the 3 or 4 year old battery always fires up and never an issue. good luck, Mike

 

[bluesrt]

remember jumpimg a dead battery and driveing it then is a good cause to burn up your alternater, unless your on your way to the doctor, slo charge it before you fire

 

[AAKVIPER]

Yes battery inspection cover looks like the water reservoir rubber cover.
Look at the left side in the trunk. You will see two round rubber covers on the side of the trunk. Peal the one closer to you off and you can see with a flashlight the battery.

 

[Green Viper]

I had a very similar issue, my 99 GTS was running rough. Then the battery died, it was less than 12 months old and when I went to llok at it there was corrosion (white powder) everywhere near the battery.

Like you I thought I had a bad or cheap battery, turns out the ground lug to the chassis had come loose, it was connected but not well enough to fully charge the battery and adding strain to the battery and wiring on restarts.

Please check your grounds, both battery to frame and also engine to frame near starter, either one can cause a problem.

 

[WDW MKR]

Duralast Gold is a great battery, not some cheap knock-off from the local grocery store. I'd follow the advice given in this thread and look into system issues. If it was a ground connection problem, you might have unknowingly corrected it when installing the Optima.

On a side note, add me to the list of people with bad Optima Red Top experiences.

 

[AAKVIPER]

Ok update...Drove the Rt-10 and

all was well ..

I also pulled a voltage meter reading and at idle on start up and it read 14.40 and was very stable even with load.
Checked the ground wires..Thanks for that advice Green Viper andWDW MKR. All was tight. Now I did some research on bad grounding wire issues, and this shows up in a large fluctuations on your volt meter under load, such as head lights, vent fans, radiator fan, etc. tried all these tests and all seemed fine.

Seems like it was a simple battery issue. I will keep the members posted.

Arthur

 

[AAKVIPER]

Incedently, what bad Optima Red Top experiences have members had?

just curious? Arthur

 

[bluesrt]

For everyone out there that lets the battery go dead.then jump or charge every few months.you to will keep running into battery problems and then other problems maybe after that.

 

[AZTVR]

Incedently, what bad Optima Red Top experiences have members had? just curious? Arthur

On the Optima issue, there are a lot of posts about early failures on this site and other forums; so, something was happening. at least for long enough to get some bad internet rep. I have 4 of them, and never have had an issue. I am guessing that they must have had a manufacturing issue at one time. My recollection of the posts was that the people that encountered the issues were covered under their warrantee; but, many were pissed at having to hassle with replacing them.

That's just my two cents. I like the ones that I have and I recommend them. They seem to last longer than wet cell batteries when they are in a situation of sitting unused for long periods. (But, I wasn't religiously using battery tenders until the last couple of years).

 

[JoelW]

On the Optima issue, there are a lot of posts about early failures on this site and other forums; so, something was happening. at least for long enough to get some bad internet rep. I have 4 of them, and never have had an issue. I am guessing that they must have had a manufacturing issue at one time. My recollection of the posts was that the people that encountered the issues were covered under their warrantee; but, many were pissed at having to hassle with replacing them.

That's just my two cents. I like the ones that I have and I recommend them. They seem to last longer than wet cell batteries when they are in a situation of sitting unused for long periods. (But, I wasn't religiously using battery tenders until the last couple of years).

My local Parts Pro at Advance does not recommend Optimas for cars - apparently they have had several failures and at least one damaged car. He does have one in his boat however.

 

[bluesrt]

My local Parts Pro at Advance does not recommend Optimas for cars - apparently they have had several failures and at least one damaged car. He does have one in his boat however.

prolly cause they dont sell them, did you ask the clown if he doesnt recommend them,then why would he have one in his boat?

 

[Cobraken]

Deep cycle batteries would be recommended for boating applications.

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

Optimas are garbage. They barely qualify to be a good paper weight. All 4 (yes 4) of mine were covered under warranty, but I now have a "Werker" battery (the only other sealed battery the store carried that fit the Viper). Been in there for a few years now, no issues whatsoever.

Optima used to be a good battery. Then the company sold and the new batteries must be made in Chinese sweatshops, which the same quality we have come to expect from the Chinese.