New Battery Suggestions

[VIPER 93]

Costco Kirkland battery. No questions asked full replacement with 3 years and pro-rated replacement within 8 years (or maybe 100 months). I got a new one for free when mine drained last winter because I didn't use it for 2 months. Costco cost = $50 and it's a stock fit (no need to mess around).

Did you have to buy 10?

 

[SUN RA KAT]

Put on Interstate Megatron battery 2 days ago. Hardest part about changing your own battery is laying down on ice cold concrete. Put everything back & torqued the wheel lugnuts to 90 pound/feet and it started right up.

But it died in traffic again in less than a block. Suspect after 15 months, my tuner still may have not got it tuned right. Everything is closed here because of the snow and ice storm, so going anywhere anyway.

 

[RoadiJeff]

Maybe I'm fortunate but my 99 doesn't seem to have any problem starting after it has been sitting for an extended period. No trickle charger, battery tender, etc., needed. I just went for a drive Sunday after it had not been started in over 5 weeks. No starting or running problems at all.

However, I have a Diehard. Wasn't it a Sears Diehard commercial 20 years or so ago that featured a car sitting on a frozen lake for 3 months and then it started right up and they drove off?

 

[bwagman]

Just wondering what is wrong with shaving off the top terminal posts so that they won't touch the frame, cause I did that with my Optima red on a 2000 GTS.

So, I decided to go with a red optima battery and installed it yesterday (Saturday). I had to shave off about 3mm off the right top negative terminal to clear the large metal brace, outside of that everything went very smooth. Once everything was installed the car fired right up. It's been very cold here definitely below 20 degrees. I took the car out today, and again she fired right up. I'll be starting her up again in the next couple days. I'll keep you all posted.

BTW, when I shaved down the terminal, the top still was sealed. I did not hear any noise indicating I had openend up something in the battery? Should I be worried???

Is anyone out their driving their Viper with a shaved Optima Terminal?



Ben

Okay, here's the update. Since I didn't go into work today because of the Ice Storm I decided to see if the Viper would start up having been sitting for the past 3 days. She started right up, no hesitation at all. The Red Optima Battery seems to be working fine. I also took some pics of the shaved negative terminal. I'm not sure of why some people say not to shave the terminal? There was no core exposure on the negative terminal post that I shaved as you can clearly see. I also used electrical tape and duct tape to cover both posts. See pictures below,

Viper Pics

Viper Pic 2

Viper Pic 3

Viper Pic 4

Ben

 

[V10SpeedLuvr]

I have an Optima redtop in mine and have had no problems. My negative terminal also touched the frame,so I just left the red cap on to cover the post. I was told since it was the negative post, it wasnt that big of a deal anyway, but just to be on the side of caution, I left the cap on

 

[VPRVENM97]

bwagman,

From the photo it looks like the positive post is right up against the frame. If that's the case, that duct tape may wear away from vibration. You might wanna get a little more clearance between the post and the frame just to be safe. I wish optima would just make a battery without the top posts. Would make life a whole lot simpler for us.

You must be registered for see images

 

[cayman]

I just replaced my 6 year old Interstate Megatron battery with a new one. The car is a '98 and has 12,000 miles on it so needless to say it sits a lot. The old battery was still cranking fine when I pulled it out. Just didn't want to push my luck. As far as batteries puking, I'm not so much concerned with it on the Viper as I was on the C5 corvette that has the PCM sitting directly under the battery!

 

[bwagman]

bwagman,

From the photo it looks like the positive post is right up against the frame. If that's the case, that duct tape may wear away from vibration. You might wanna get a little more clearance between the post and the frame just to be safe. I wish optima would just make a battery without the top posts. Would make life a whole lot simpler for us.

You must be registered for see images

actually the positive terminal is free of the frame although I can see from the picture how you could think it's rubbing. The negative terminal has a few mm of space before the frame.

 

[VPRVENM97]

actually the positive terminal is free of the frame although I can see from the picture how you could think it's rubbing. The negative terminal has a few mm of space before the frame.

Glad it worked out for you. Luckily my red top installed without any modifications. 3 years now and still works great. I keep it on a battery tender when not used over an extended period of time.

 

[bwagman]

actually the positive terminal is free of the frame although I can see from the picture how you could think it's rubbing. The negative terminal has a few mm of space before the frame.

Glad it worked out for you. Luckily my red top installed without any modifications. 3 years now and still works great. I keep it on a battery tender when not used over an extended period of time.

The Positive Terminal was not modified, it was the negative terminal which I shaved a few millimeters. I also plan on using a tender. I'm not sure why, but some of the posts said not to shave the terminal, but I had no problem.

 

[jwbond]

I'm at work and my manual is at home. Can someone post specs on the size a 96 gts needs?

 

[jk]

I've seen all the discussions about the issues of the terminals of an Optima fitting into the Viper, but since it is a sealed battery, has anybody tried some sort of horizontal mounting (mounting it so the side terminal are pointing up)? Not sure about rigging the hold downs on the battery, but if if works, then there would be no worries about the top posts hitting the frame.