Well i tried to start the car today and it was a no go.. So i jumped it with my new battery/tire portable machine... I idled the car for like 20 min. and then turned it off.. Well I just tried to start it again to take her out and i had to jump it again... The cars been sitting for awhile due to vacation and not driving it that much but could the battery be bad after sitting for awhile... Obviously its not holding a charge... What should i do... Thanks

Tony

 

By a new battery

 

Waht type of battery to get? red top, yellow top, anything specific...

 

Well, what you should also consider beofre saying it's not holding a charger is, you should drive the car to really generate a good charge, as just leaving the car idling will not really generate a good charger if your battery is just a little low.

Also, consider getting it checked out. Good luck!

 

well I did some reading and seems like the Optimas have fitment issues... If i do need a new battery than i think i'll look elsewhere... I know i really need to drive it to get a good charge...

I'll check it this week....

 

you could pull the battery yourself and take it to a battery specialist and have them run a few tests on it for you. If it tests out okay have a full charge put on it. Or, when you get the time, jump it again and drive the whole car to a battery specialist.

 

just get a good ole interstate. that's what oem replacement is.

 

I agree with CHUCKB,
The lead-acid battery setup is easier to work with. Optimas are different, and require different treatment. A good lead-acid battery will charge up at idle just as much as driving it will. You'll get no more amps driving it than you will idling it. I will say this though....you shouldn't use your alternator to charge up a dead or nearly dead battery. That is what a battery charger is for. If the battery you are trying to charge is shorted somewhat (like in one cell, then the alternator will see an increased load, and could possibly burn itself out.

Also, once an OPTIMA has been allowed to go dead or nearly dead, it must be reconditioned before it will be serviceable again. Charging in a car will NOT do it. Optima makes what is known as a battery "tender", which is a mini trickle charger. This "tender" is plugged into 110 volt wall socket and the other end connects to the battery while it is disconnected from the car. Whenever the car is to be stored for a period of time, the Optima battery has to be trickle charged, or it will slowly drain down until it dies. This is unfortunately the bad side of the "glass mat" technology. There is no water/acid mixture like normal batteries.

The military has had them for a few years now, and at first we discarded nearly half the batteries we had in our equipment until we learned that we were charging them wrong. If someone left a light or a switch on overnight, the battery was usually dead the next day, and would not take a quick charge. If the battery says 12.0 volts on a multimeter, it is 50% discharged. Normal battery voltage for an OPTIMA is 12.8, so it has to be continuously charged until it holds 12.8 volts, as weird as it sounds. I have had a lot of experience with Optima's and when it comes time to change my original battery, it is INTERSTATE for me.

 

Yea I'm just going to go the interstate route or Advance Auto. I've had pretty good luck with them.. I'm probably going to getn it checked out tomorrow...