Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching it? | Body and Interior (2024)
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#691981 - 04/23/0507:29 PMOptima Red Top owners... how are you attaching it?
metroplex Metroplectic Registered: 11/13/00 Posts: 49827 Loc: Motor City, USA
Did you buy a dedicated battery box? How did you secure it in your pre-03 Panther?
I'm using the stock hold-down bracket and it's still moving just a tad.
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#691982 - 04/23/0507:55 PMRe: Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching it?
Pale Rider Over the Hill Registered: 09/12/04 Posts: 1524
Met: BTW which model battery did you buy? Is the posts reversed? Maybe you could put a battery mat under it to prevent it from moving around. Back in my Torino I used the factory brackets and metal tray and had no movement...PR...
#691983 - 04/23/0510:31 PMRe: Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching
metroplex Metroplectic Registered: 11/13/00 Posts: 49827 Loc: Motor City, USA
I bought the Group 34 Red Top (no side terminals). The problem is that the 2000 Vics have no "tray", but instead its a plastic part of the fender apron with only 3 sides (1 side is not bracketed, so the battery can shift towards the engine). The top hold-down is a joke and never even gripped the Group 65 very well.
I believe the 03-up have a wedge shaped bolt-down tab and lips on the tray to hold down your batteries?
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#691984 - 04/24/0502:04 AMRe: Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching
Bomber166 is on next season of Prison Break Over the Hill Registered: 10/15/04 Posts: 2528
i have bungee cords holding in my optima, one day i'll weld something up...
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#691985 - 04/24/0505:47 AMRe: Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching
Buck268 Grand Poobah Registered: 02/27/02 Posts: 12132 Loc: Grand Rapids, MI
When I switched to the group 65 Diehard, I got a batt. hold down for a '00 Vic to fit it. Perhaps the hold down for a '94 P74 would work for your 34 Optima?
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#691986 - 04/24/0509:19 AMRe: Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching
metroplex Metroplectic Registered: 11/13/00 Posts: 49827 Loc: Motor City, USA
Do you have any pics of your 94 hold-down? What did 94 Vics use stock, Group 34 batteries?
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#691987 - 04/24/0510:53 AMRe: Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching
#691988 - 04/24/0501:38 PMRe: Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching
metroplex Metroplectic Registered: 11/13/00 Posts: 49827 Loc: Motor City, USA
I'm a firm believer in VRLA AGM batteries. Flooded lead-acid batteries are yester-year. I'd go with a FLAB if I can't get the Optima batteries at a nominal price.
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#691989 - 04/24/0501:59 PMRe: Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching
Dextrovic Poobah
Registered: 07/17/02 Posts: 7848 Loc:
'94s used a group 58 battery stock. IIRC, I still do have my old original group 58 top bracket laying around somewhere in my big bin o' parts after I upgraded to a group 65 battery.
I don't have a picture of it handy, though. It'll look just like the group 65 "I"-shaped bracket hewn from a thick sheet of stamped steel, painted/powder-coated(?) black with smaller dimensions and a stamped "dip" to hold down the shorter group 58 battery. It sports the same tangs as the group 65 bracket to lock the battery down width-wise. The fender liner "tray" locates the battery length-wise at the fender-side.
BTW,
Group 58 = 10-1/16" L x 7-3/16" W x 6-15/16" H Group 65 = 12-1/16" L x 7-1/2" W x 7-9/16" H
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#691990 - 04/24/0507:23 PMRe: Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching
Json Member Registered: 10/03/04 Posts: 216
They came with group 65's if they had a heated windshield.
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#691991 - 04/24/0507:25 PMRe: Optima Red Top owners... how are you attaching
metroplex Metroplectic Registered: 11/13/00 Posts: 49827 Loc: Motor City, USA
I think the height adapter might work well... I didn't get any adapters w/ my battery other than the Group 65 wing adapters (useless) and the wedge block for GM cars (useless as well).
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Start by hooking up the good battery and deeply discharged AGM battery in parallel — positive to positive and negative to negative. Next, hook up the good battery to the charger and turn on the charger. The charger will “see” the voltage of the good battery (hooked up in parallel) and start providing a charge.
In an application like that, they could expect to see an OPTIMA battery last four to six years. However, in a more moderate climate, like San Diego, if someone might see four years out of a flooded battery, they could see double or triple that out of an OPTIMA.
CAN YOU TRICKLE-CHARGE AN OPTIMA REDTOP, BLUETOP or YELLOWTOP BATTERY AND WHAT TYPE OF CHARGER CAN I USE? Yes, and you can use any charger on any of those OPTIMA batteries as long as the voltage is regulated properly.
YELLOWTOP batteries are designed & warrantied for starting and deep-cycle use. While many consumers (and battery brands) focus on starting power (CCA), a YELLOWTOP battery will actually offer slightly fewer cranking amps, while offering slightly more reserve capacity (Ah), than a comparably-sized REDTOP.
The RedTop provides the strongest 5-second burst of power every time you need to start your vehicle, making it perfect for those who value reliability. These batteries are ideal for providing clean ignition power to cars, trucks, and other vehicles that have properly sized alternators.
One of the most-common misconceptions about OPTIMA batteries is that they require "special" battery chargers. That's just not true. The fact is, most battery chargers will work just fine on OPTIMA batteries in most situations.
OPTIMA ORANGETOP lithium will automatically wake from Sleep/Storage mode for charging if an OPTIMA lithium-enabled charger is used. If using a non-OPTIMA charger, it may be necessary to manually “wake” the battery using the POWERLINK™ button on the powersports battery or the on/off button on the Q31M series batteries.
In time, AGM batteries, including Optima batteries, may fail. Failures are often caused when a starting battery is used in a cycling application, for which a deep-cycle battery is the better choice. If you have bad AGM battery, you attach it to your charger and the charger won't even charge it.
The average cost for a Kia Optima Battery Replacement is between $266 and $273. Labor costs are estimated between $26 and $33 while parts are typically priced around $239. This range does not include taxes and fees, and does not factor in your unique location. Related repairs may also be needed.
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