Thread: Optima batteries?

D31 dropped straight into my D2a. Cables fitted without modification.

Have a D34 as an aux battery .... Both 3yrs old and going strong.

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Originally Posted by Hammer H

Hi Fantom,

Does the battery (d31) fit no problems with the original clamp and cables?

Cheers

hammer H

Hi Hammer
Fitted easily still have original clamp & battery cover!

Hi Hammer H, in 2005, I bought an Optima D34 Yellowtop as the auxiliary battery in my D3.

It was moved to my D4, then sat around my workshop for about 12 months.

Then when my death trap Range Rover suffered an alternator failure, which caused the steering lock to come on and stay on while my wife was driving the death trap, I fitted the Yellowtop into the RR to act as emergency power should the alternator go again ( which is a common reoccurrence in the RR ).

Because of the emergency power needed in the RR, and with the original Yellowtop being close to 7 years old, I decided to get a new Yellowtop from Michael T and replaced the old one.

The original Yellowtop then sat around in the workshop for months, till my wife’s Toyota Seca’s cranking battery failed, so I decided to fit the Yellowtop and use it till it died.

That was just over two years ago and, with the battery now over 9 years old, and it’s still working perfectly.

Then when my death trap Range Rover suffered an alternator failure, which caused the steering lock to come on and stay on while my wife was driving the death trap, I fitted the Yellowtop into the RR to act as emergency power should the alternator go again ( which is a common reoccurrence in the RR ).

Because of the emergency power needed in the RR, and with the original Yellowtop being close to 7 years old, I decided to get a new Yellowtop from Michael T and replaced the old one..
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Thank you Drivesafe,

err no steering, that's a concern, which model was that?
So if the battery is in better condition and the alternator fails then the battery will supply enough power to stop the steering lock activating?

Hammer H

Hi again Hammer and it’s a long story which I won’t go into here but my 07 TDV8 RR Vogue’s alternator failed and the RR stopped in the middle of a busy country road, and thats where it sat for two and a half hours, while two RACQ road side crews tried to work out how to get the death trap out of the middle of the road.

It wasn’t far from home so when my wife rang me and told me what was going on, I grabbed the OLD Optima D34 Yellowtop and when I got there, the crew was trying to get enough power, using a jump pack, to get the steering lock off and to get the RR into neutral.

Their jump pack didn’t have enough grunt but my Optima did.

Michael, who sells them on here, told me when I purchased mine he had one that lasted 13 years.

The '13 year old' battery is a Optima 34 red top starting battery and has been sitting in my Bristol since 1998.
Optima recently rejected my warranty claim as their records showed it was outside the normal warranty period!
Given that the battery is still performing AOK, all be it for an acid leak around the positive terminal ... traced to faulty regulator I think, as after a trip you could hear the battery venting (bubbling sound). For now, I just turn on the 2x35w headlights and volts seem to sit below 14. I really should fix the regulator!
The key to any battery survival really is not storing it flat. I use the Bristol irregularly now days, and often put a charger on the battery after the car has been used to ensure the battery is fully charged ... but then in the past it has sat unassisted for 8 months, and still started the car.

Michael. Get a maintenance charger. I have a motor bike which sits idle for about 6 months a year.

When parked the charger goes on, even during the other six months. I purchased the bike new in 2008 and the original battery is still good after 6 years.