Re: engine wont turn over

Posted by charlieshot On 2018/7/7 17:41:33

Hello Brians51
I too had a dead optima battery, and the mfg. sent me this info, and it worked. good luck.Sorry to hear you are having issues with your battery. We occasionally hear from customers who have had trouble recharging their batteries, once they have been deeply-discharged (often well below 5.25 volts). The good news is that OPTIMA batteries are far more resilient to this type of deep-discharge than traditional flooded batteries, which can often be ruined after such an incident. The bad news is, not every charger is capable of recharging a deeply-discharged battery, whether it is an OPTIMA battery or any other brand.

Many battery chargers have very basic and outdated charging parameters that prevent them from delivering current to any battery, if it doesn't register above a minimum voltage level, typically around 5.25 volts. Likewise, any load test performed on a deeply-discharged battery will result in a failed test, even if the battery subsequently works fine and functions normally once it is properly-recharged.

To recover a battery using one of these older technology chargers, you can wire a second, fully-charged automotive battery (6V+) to the deeply-discharged battery in parallel (+ to + and - to -). Then hook up the charger to the deeply-discharged battery, setting the charger at 10 amps. Charge for 2 hours, monitoring frequently. When the deeply-discharged battery reaches 5.25 volts or more, remove the second battery and continue charging the deeply-discharged battery until fully recharged- about 6.3 - 6.4 volts.

Typically we recommend charging at a relatively low current, such as 2 amps, but when the battery has been deeply-discharged, some sulfation of the battery plates may have occurred. If you charge at a higher rate (up to 10 amps), the higher current will help to break up this sulfation. If you have an automatic charger, let it run until the charger indicates charging is complete. If you have a manual charger, estimate charging time by multiplying the capacity (amp hours or Ah) of the battery by 1.2 for a rough estimate of charging time in hours.

In most cases these steps will recover a deeply-discharged battery. It's okay for the deeply-discharged battery to get slightly warm during the charging process, but hot to the touch means there's a short and the process should be discontinued.
Warranties are handled by the original retail location with original receipt. Most retail locations register your sale with your phone number and can track that purchase.

The Optima factory warranty policy requires a receipt from the original purchaser.
Your purchase receipt:
1. Establishes the beginning date of service.
2. Identifies you as the original purchaser
3. Identifies that the battery is used in a consumer (not commercial) application.
4. Identifies the sale as a retail purchase.
Without this there is no way to verify that the battery was purchased new, never been used.


Thank you,
Mary Jo
Optima Customer Service