Optima Battery Frozen?

[Metallman56]

So yeah i know this sounds nuts but hear me out.

The temp here has not been above 0 sense sunday, infact its probably averaged about - 10 without windchill. So need less to say its colder than hell. My car has not been drove sense Wednesday or even started for that matter.

When i went to start my car i had to jump it, no surprise there. I let it run for probably about 15 mins just at idel. When i put it in gear it bogged down real hard and just died.

So i took out the battery and put it on my battery charger in my basement to warm it up. It showed about 90% charged when i hooked it up, but my charger doesn't have a volt meter. I went back down 3 hours later it was still cold as hell and had frost all over it. So put a space heater pointing towards it for about an hour and a half and that seemed to do the trick. Put it back in the car and it starts right up no problem. Put it in gear, and all is well.

I know very little about optima battery optima batteries so my question is is it possible for a red top to freeze up like that?

Oh also battery is about 2 maybe 3 years old

[TDavis]

If the battery is 3 years old its in need of replacing. I think you're supposed to replace a battery every 3 years, or maybe its 5, can't remember.

[bricooper78]

depends on the battery, interstates are prorated out for 5 years, and iirc they are warrantied up to 7, but after 5 you only get like 10 or 15% back off it, something like that.

those optima batteries were gel, and can be mounted sideways and upside down and all that right? or did they stop doing that? i'd think that's odd that would freeze, but it's been insane. but once it freezes, i think they lose a little something and they are slightly weaker than they once were, i'll dig around google, i read that somewhere a LONG time ago

edit--> there

Pull off the cell caps and look inside. If you spot ice don’t try to jumpstart your car. Your battery could actually explode if you try to revive it and the last thing you want to encounter at any time of day is an exploding box of sulfuric acid.

So if you see ice inside you’ll need to warm up the battery before attempting to charge or jump it. This could mean bringing it inside your house or garage and waiting for it to warm up and this will take hours. There’s a possibility the battery is permanently damaged if it was frozen for more than a few hours. If you have a spare battery this is the time to use it.

After an overnight stay all tucked in and warm, look inside the cells. If you see water it’s safe to reinstall the battery, give it a little goose and see if it’s still alive. If so than you can be on your way.

[ItsMeScottG]

Batteries typically last 3-5 years, and they will not last anywhere as long when they are put into extreme temperatures. Your probably going to need to replace the battery.

[bricooper78]

36 Month free replacement from Optima on redtops.

http://www.optimabatteries.com/en-us/support/warranties

So if they have a 100% replacement at 3 years (36 months), they are not expecting you to buy 1 battery, and they give you new ones every 3 years.

They last longer then 3 years. It should be warrantied. Call the place you bought it and see what you need to do to get it warrantied. Won't hurt to call and ask.

[rocketfast123]

Wow alot of bad info here...3 years for a battery?!?! My red top is about 10 or 11 years old, and even others will last about 6 years. well lets get to the main thing.

1. A standard battery charger will not charge a Optima. You need a Optima charger or trick the battery.


Also you can get a cheap volt meter from harbor freight.

[xUnderCoverHoBo]

My optima just went out too

[TDavis]

Originally Posted by rocketfast123

Wow alot of bad info here...3 years for a battery?!?! My red top is about 10 or 11 years old, and even others will last about 6 years. well lets get to the main thing.

1. A standard battery charger will not charge a Optima. You need a Optima charger or trick the battery.


Also you can get a cheap volt meter from harbor freight.

If you drove your car all day then let your car sit overnight in -5 degree weather I bet it wouldn't start the next day. I wouldn't feel safe keeping a battery in a car that is 10 years old.

But you're in Alabama so I wouldn't expect that cold of weather.

[TDavis]

Also from what I read reviews on Optima batteries is that they're not worth the extra cost unless you drive your car everyday. Other then that they'll die on you.

[AaronGTR]

I had a similary problem with my Optima red top yesterday. I hadn't driven the car for 3 days and it was sitting outside in sub zero temps. Tried to start it and it was almost dead. It did manage to turn the engine over though and once the engine started and the alternator got running it was fine. I put it in the garage to warm up for about 3 hours while my dad was at work then drove it around for about an hour running errands and it got well charged and is fine now.

I don't recall how old it is. Maybe 3 years. I know they say 3-5 years is typical for most batteries, but I've seen them last 6-8. A lot of it really depends on the battery quality and what conditions it's kept in. If you keep the battery terminals clean, have a good alternator/charging system, and drive in moderate temps most of the time, they will last longer. Extremes of heat or cold will shorten their life, as well as if they get discharged very low too many times.

btw, I've never heard anything about optimas needing special chargers before. I've charged mine plenty of times with my regular charger and with my battery tender, and it's worked just fine.
As for whether they are worth the extra cost, it really depends on your need. I think because of the design of them, with the spiral lead cores and acid gel, they probably aren't as good for long term storage. I've noticed this myself, and it may have something to do with no circulation of liquid around lead plates like in a normal battery. If you use it regularly or keep a battery tender on it though, it shouldn't be a problem. The real purpose of the design is to not have any liquid acid that can leak or gas that can vent, which is required if the battery is mounted in the trunk or other interior area instead of in the engine compartment.

[sleepyalero]

I will vouch for an above post. The gtp I am using for winter has had an optima in it for 7-8 years. Never been changed. And he hasnt (or I) have had problems with it on this car.

[ItsMeScottG]

Originally Posted by AaronGTR

I had a similary problem with my Optima red top yesterday. I hadn't driven the car for 3 days and it was sitting outside in sub zero temps. Tried to start it and it was almost dead. It did manage to turn the engine over though and once the engine started and the alternator got running it was fine. I put it in the garage to warm up for about 3 hours while my dad was at work then drove it around for about an hour running errands and it got well charged and is fine now.

I don't recall how old it is. Maybe 3 years. I know they say 3-5 years is typical for most batteries, but I've seen them last 6-8. A lot of it really depends on the battery quality and what conditions it's kept in. If you keep the battery terminals clean, have a good alternator/charging system, and drive in moderate temps most of the time, they will last longer. Extremes of heat or cold will shorten their life, as well as if they get discharged very low too many times.

btw, I've never heard anything about optimas needing special chargers before. I've charged mine plenty of times with my regular charger and with my battery tender, and it's worked just fine.
As for whether they are worth the extra cost, it really depends on your need. I think because of the design of them, with the spiral lead cores and acid gel, they probably aren't as good for long term storage. I've noticed this myself, and it may have something to do with no circulation of liquid around lead plates like in a normal battery. If you use it regularly or keep a battery tender on it though, it shouldn't be a problem. The real purpose of the design is to not have any liquid acid that can leak or gas that can vent, which is required if the battery is mounted in the trunk or other interior area instead of in the engine compartment.

True, I say 3-5 years as an average only because I live in Houston and I'm sure the Houston heat affects battery life.

[Metallman56]

wow lots of info on here not sure if its good or bad

so lets stick with the facts

1. my car is a daily driver. its gets started and drove basically every day. however this past week its been very cold, snowy and icy so I've been taking my wifes ford escape to and from work. with her being 9 months pregnant and not working it works out well for me.

2. the sticker on the battery says 1/11. I don't know if that's the month and year it was made, or it that's when autozone stocked it. either way it was put in my car in the spring of 2011

3. this is my 2nd redtop for this car. the first was bought probably in 04 or 05 and lasted until 2011.

4. my car had not even been started in 5 days, and 2 of those day it did not get up to 0 degrees. for about 36 hours the windchill did not get about -35

5. I have used my normal 2/10/50 amp charger on both my red and yellow tops for years now, and have had 0 issues.

6. I'm convinced the battery was actually frozen solid. which I didn't think was possible.

aaron let me ask you this. if your car would have sat for a day or two more, do you think it would have started?

[geldartb]

on your number 1 that happened to me last year. battery was fine up until it decided to go negative temps and then the battery just said nope i ain't working no more..car would practically start and then just die.

[AaronGTR]

eh, I'm betting if it had sat longer, yeah it probably wouldn't have started.

The first red top that I had was in the car when it got wrecked way back in late 2004. It sat in the car for a while, got removed when I started working on it, then sat in the garage for almost a year and a half. It was definitely dead after that, so I turned it in and bought another because it wouldn't charge up or hold a charge. I might have been able to fix it using the info in that video, but I didn't know about fixing a deeply discharge gel cell battery at that time.

[Metallman56]

so our can we reach the conclusion that if you live somewhere where it drops below 0 regularly an optima is not a great choice for a battery?

[AaronGTR]

I dunno for sure. If I had to make a theory, I'd say possibly not, but it really would depend on how often you drive it and where it's stored. If you drive it every day and park in a heated garage, it's probably not going to be a problem. If it sits outside several days at a time, especially if the battery is getting older, then yeah maybe.

[bricooper78]

Optima has lost it's edge, and the product went downhill in the last several years, plenty of them die, and they used to be bulletproof back in the late 90s.

Interstate man, Interstate batteries. Mine was 10 before it died, in iowa. it gets subzero, and it breaks 100 degrees. they are worth the money. a good, solid battery.

however, regardless.... if you put it in spring of 2011, it's going to be 3 years old then, and it's UNDER WARRANTY SO GO TAKE IT IN FOR A WARRANTY REPLACEMENT!!!!
I hope someone else can see my posts i'm feeling like a ghost here

[Metallman56]

yeah I've heard interstate is a good brand. however, do they make a battery with both top and side terminals? that's what I'm after. side for the starter, top for the music

[plastic_indian]

While I have no science to back it up, I remain absolutely *convinced* it is virtually impossible to obtain a service replacement battery of equal quality to the factory installed unit, regardless of the name on the sticker. I frequently see silver top Delcos (factory installed Delcos have a silver label, service replacement units have a blue label) that are 6-8 years old (I saw a silver top in an 03 G van last month, still kicking!).

That stated, my Pontiac has a blue Delco, parks in a heated/cooled garage without fail and stays on a battery tender. Despite extended periods of inactivity, the battery is in great shape (four or five years old).

My truck, however, sees similar extended inactivity but spends probably 30% of its time outside and does not use a tender; its three year old high-buck Interstate is in bad shape.

My daily blazer only comes in the garage when it needs fixed, but is driven multiple times almost every day. Its napa batt has cranked strong each morning in this horrible weather, although it does benefit from a water jacket heater.

Heat kills batteries. An extended low-charge state kills batteries. Cold lowers the voltage a battery can develop/sustain under load (a chemistry teacher once explained to me the science behind this, but it has gone out of my head). A fully charged battery in good condition will almost never freeze. Therefore, summer heat and low charge are what hurts a battery, but the weakness won't manifest until a winter cold snap.

As far as the Optima charger, I've had equipment salesmen preach this before, but who knows if it's real or marketing fluff. We always throw 'em on a 2 amp charge with a regular buzz box for several hours and call it good. If they won't recharge doing this, it's probably either still under warranty or time for a new one anyway.