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01-15-2004, 10:23 AM | #1 |
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Optima Yellow Top: Will drain with in 2.5 weeks on WRX
I don't drive my car in the winter-time that much. My factory
battery died in 2 years. I looked around for a high power battery and came across Optima Battery's advertising campaign... that the Yellow Top was for cars that are not driven all the time....only to find out that their battery is not that great either. It drained within 2.5 weeks on my WRX; no juice to turn over the motor. This was in a car that was garaged in Chicago winter (approx 35F-40F inside garage) It seems that the Subaru factory security system drains the battery if you leave it armed. I would've expected the Yellow Top to last at least a month without charging. So as a warning, even if you do buy a Yellow Top thinking that you can leave it a month without charging it, you're wrong. Perhaps in warmer climates that may be true. If you're planning to take a long trip leaving your car parked at the airport for more than a week in cold weather, take a spare battery with you and leave it in the trunk.
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01-19-2004, 12:23 AM | #3 |
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since the yellow top is a deep cycle battery it won't die as
fast as the redtops that can't be deep cycled. so even though it may drain all the way within 2.5 weeks in the cold, just charge it up before use (max 10A for 8hours) and you're set. at least we have that benefit over the normal redtops or any ordinary acid battery. |
01-19-2004, 07:37 AM | #4 |
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You may want to measure the actual standy drain in your car by disconnecting one of the terminals and connecting an ammeter in series. It's possible that something in the car is causing an excessive amount of drain. Normal standy or "parasitic" drain should be around 100-200 ma or so max, if it's much more than that the battery will drain if the car sits.
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01-19-2004, 12:02 PM | #6 |
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why not just take your battery inside if your going to leave your car sit for 2.5 weeks.. it would be hard to steal the car w/o a battery IMO. would also solve this problem
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01-21-2004, 09:52 PM | #8 |
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friend of mine had this prob with his optima red top, leaves his car in the garage here in the NW for weeks at a time...aftermarket alarm activated and everything.
He has since switched to an Optima Blue Top (deep cycle marine) and so far no problems in the last few weeks Steve |
02-02-2004, 02:23 AM | #10 |
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Im looking into a yellow top and I also live in chicago, But I drive the car every day. I want to upgrade not only for weight but for my sound system too.
What model yellow top did you get? Im also looking into relocating it to the trunk. If anyone has more info on this please let me know. thanks -nick |
02-06-2004, 12:20 AM | #12 |
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nick- im not sure which model number, but its the one that
has 750cca. I bought mine at Sears, but Autozone has it about $10 cheaper (i found out afterwards ) If you mount it in the factory location, you need to get a 6" + jumper as the + harness will not reach the terminal... well, at least on mine it didn't. The ground harness is fine. Its not so light weight, imo, but should work great for your stereo. michmosh (is your name suppose to be moshi moshi as in "hello?" in Japanese?) - deepcycle batteries run lower voltage than regular batteries. |
02-06-2004, 06:58 PM | #15 |
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Put the charger under the front of the car and put a piece of duct tape over the power cord....a 'Remove before flight' flag should prevent accidental, connected departures.
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02-06-2004, 10:45 PM | #16 |
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why not jsut disconnect the battery while its stored for winter.......
I have an optima yellow in both the GVR4 and my other Z....both cars sit alot at various times during the year, and not a problem. Sounds like you have a drain someplace.
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02-07-2004, 01:34 AM | #17 |
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the drain is from the security system, mostly. I don't arm it
in the wintertime. The 20F temps don't help either. Don't want to reset the ECU. Don't want cords on the floor of the garage. I do charge it at 2amps occasionally to get it fully charged while im working on my other car or doing something in the garage. |
02-07-2004, 03:41 AM | #18 |
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There are several, logical, viable solutions that have been posted and some others I'm sure....
I guess some people don't really want or need an answer, they just want to bitch. |
02-16-2004, 09:57 PM | #20 |
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what about using a solar charger and rewiring your cig lighter to a constant 12v instead of accessory powered 12v. Or just putting in a secondary cig lighter for the solar charger? It can stay inside the car so no cables to trip over.
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