Problem with my Optima battery?

[notstock71]

Last night I put the Nova on the trickle charger because I was thinking about driving it to work today. The car has been sitting since last year. I have trickle charged it overnight before.

Anyways, I went out this morning and the battery is making a very faint sizzle sound. I unplugged the charger and the battery kept doing it. I couldn't look into it further, I was running late. I do not know if I have power or not.

Any ideas of what was going on? I am wondering if it overcharged (my charger is supposed to shut off when the battery is charged).

[notstock71]

Sorry, it's a red top. I didn't see any signs of leakage or case damage to the battery on my quick inspection.

[shor]

i have had a similar problem with the optima red.
that sound is gas escaping on some sort of internal check valve.
the light never goes green again on the charger.

i have had many reds and yellows over the years and have never had a problem with the yellows.
i only use yellows now.

[shor]

from the optima web site:

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/o...ical_specs.html

<font color="red">Safety Information:

Always wear safety glasses when working with batteries.

Always use a voltage regulated battery charger with limits set to the above ratings. Overcharging can cause the safety valves to open and battery gasses to escape, resulting in premature failure. These gasses are flammable! You cannot replace water in sealed batteries that have been overcharged. Any battery that becomes very hot or makes a hissing sound while recharging should be disconnected immediately.

Failure to fully charge a battery can result in poor performance and a reduction in capacity.
</font>

[Charley Lillard]

Optimas don't seem to charge well with a regular charger. Sears now sells one that has a setting for the Optima type battery. I just bought a C-tek charger that also has a computer that takes care of Optimas

[Pantera]

you should always keep any battery on a "Battery Tender" that will maintain its surface charge. A battery left for long periods of time without a full charge will "Die".

Once they go all the way down you will always have charging problems. If you want to use a trickle charge then rig a timer up on it so that every week it comes on for 20 min and that should keep a healthy battery new.

Pantera

The "Battery Tender" which is a storage device to maintain your battery and keep it healthy. I use one on my motorcycle and it is always ready to go. good investment and easy to wire up with a special plug for quick disconect when you want to use the vehicle.

[Charley Lillard]

C-tek on Ebay

[notstock71]

Thanks for the quick replies. I guess this is my own fault, maybe I'll start reading instructions.

[Pantera]

Try this for only $49.95

http://www.batterytender.com/

Pantera

[notstock71]

Thanks for the leads on the battery tenders. I'll be buying one as soon as I replace the Optima. Any chance I can get it warrantied?