OPTIMA Batteries are among the most-trusted and popular automotive batteries on the market. One of the great things about OPTIMA’s AGM-style batteries is their extremely low internal resistance. This allows very high amperage output enabling the battery to power your accessories longer and deeper than a traditional battery while discharging it at the same time.
But even the best batteries can fail, especially when starting batteries are used for deep-cycling applications (learn more about choosing a battery here and here). In many cases, though, OPTIMA batteries that are pronounced “dead” are actually just deeply discharged. According to OPTIMA, these AGM-style batteries can be resuscitated and saved using three different methods. Before you send your battery to the car parts graveyard, give one of these solutions a try:
1. Use a AGM-Specific Charger
An AGM battery can stump car guys because it doesn’t work like a traditional flooded lead-acid battery. They may hook a seemingly bad OPTIMA battery to the old tried-and-true battery charger and get no signs of life.
Here’s the problem.
Most battery chargers have built-in safety features which prevent them from recharging deeply discharged batteries. If a traditional battery is at 10.5 volts or less, an analog charger will remain off because the battery is seen a defective. The charger will remain off because charging a “bad” battery could create an unsafe scenario. The AGM battery may be just fine, but has slipped below the minimum voltage threshold of the charger to turn on.
That’s why it’s important to purchase a modern, AGM-specific charger for your AGM-style battery.
AGM-specific battery chargers have special settings and desulfation steps that help recondition and recover deeply discharged AGM batteries. These are becoming more common, and they work well for all lead-acid batteries, too. They have the additional capability of doubling as a battery maintainer for batteries in storage. OPTIMA offers a Digital 1200 12V Performance Battery Charger and maintainer that enhances the performance of OPTIMA and other AGM batteries, recovers deeply discharged batteries, and extends battery life.
This is the preferred method of charging a deeply discharged battery.
2. Try the DIY Solution
Want to stick to the charger already in your garage?
OPTIMA offers an alternative that tricks your traditional charger into charging the deeply discharged AGM battery. According to OPTIMA, here’s what you need:
- Battery charger (under 15 amps)
- Jumper cables
- A good battery, preferably above 12.2 volts. (It can be an AGM or flooded battery.)
- The seemingly dead, deeply discharged AGM battery
- A voltage meter
- A watch or timer
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. After the batteries have been charging for an hour, check to see if the AGM battery is slightly warm or hot to the touch. Batteries naturally become warm during charging, but excessive heat may be an indication that there really is something wrong with the battery.
IMPORTANT: Discontinue charging immediately if the battery is hot to the touch or if you hear the battery “gassing” — a hissing sound coming from the safety valves.
With your voltage meter, check back often to see if the AGM battery has charged to 10.5 volts or above. This generally takes less than two hours with a 10-amp charger. Once it reaches the 10.5-volt threshold, disconnect the charger from the wall outlet and remove the good battery from the charger. Now, connect only the deeply discharged AGM battery to the charger. Turn on the charger and continue until the AGM battery reaches a full charge, or until the automatic charger completes the charge process.
3. Get Professional Help
You can always take your battery to a professional battery specialist who knows AGM technology. Most auto parts stores use conductance testers that don’t provide correct readings, so we’d recommend a battery specialist like Interstate Batteries or other independent battery distributors. Most of these places are willing to provide “charge and check” procedures free or for a small fee and can determine if your battery is recoverable.
SOURCE: OPTIMA Batteries
Good to Know
Have a small hump on top of my optima is it safe to try to charge it its dead
Hey Fred, are you saying the battery has developed a bump, like a small lump on the top of the battery? If so, that’s a pretty good sign that battery needs to be replaced. The hump may have been caused by built-up gas trying to exit the battery’s housing as a result from overheating. (Which, in turn, can be caused by loss of electrolyte, freezing temperatures, a bad regulator, shorted cells, etc.) DO NOT attempt to charge it.
Pull the battery out and take it to your nearest battery recycling facility–most shops that will sell you a new car battery will typically take your old one for you.
I use 2 gel batterys in my wheelchair. C5 size 12 v in series. 95ah
Did not use for long period and batterys completly discharged. Only show millivolt
Is possible to revive?
Long periods of a battery in or below 10.5 volts can cause sulfates to grow and then inhibit charging. After a certain point the battery becomes so sulfates that it can not be recovered. You can Try a battery pro as stated in the article.
Here is something I have been doing with my yellow top optima battery. I stay away from normal battery chargers. It may not be the proper method to recharge, I am aware of this. I use a RadioShack 3-12V DC adapter on 12V setting. It puts out 12.38V @3.5 amps.
Any 12DC adapter works, the more amps, the quicker the charge. Takes about a day to charge enough to crank the engine. Don’t have to drag or roll any lunker battery charger either, just roll out an extension cord, hook up the polarity correctly on the adapter and tomorrow we’re good to go.
I purchased my optima battery in 2008. 115 degree summers/20 degree winters. Still working wonderfully. It has been worth every penny.
This is not a bad way to charge a battery, my most concern would be over charging the battery and gassing, loss of water. If you use a volt meter and disconnect the battery when charged you will be fine , as all your battery. Some cheap battery maintainers use a “wall wart” style plug that’s simply see 14v and cuts off or floats around this number..
*Always use PPE suffering acid can/will blind you*
Is it possible to connect a dead Optima that has sat over a year to a good installed battery in parallel with jumper cables to charge it via the alternator eliminating the charger issue of thinking it’s a faulty battery?
I have a 6V Optima that is almost 7 years old and has been on a float charger all of it’s life. The old car sit’s 99.99% of the time so I expected the battery to live for another couple of years but have been unable to bring it back to useful life. I had been float charging it at around 6.5V but that may not have been high enough.
Great review, really helps us trying to decipher this ‘new’ world of LiFePO4 batteries for our leisure needs. I really like the price of the RUiXU, I know it has some limitations but these are not going to affect everyone. Thanks, Will!
My 14 month old 12 volt Optima (yelleow top) battery reads only 6.6V. It sat, unused, in my Prius for a month. I put it an my older charger (my 2 smart chargers read a fault) to no avail.
Similar circumstance with battery reading 6 volts and charger showing green light, fully charged? I again attempted to charge again in AGM mode with another battery jumped to the Yellow Top, the charger then proceeded showing 12 volts and 24%. It has now been over 24 hours and the battery is back to 82%. This battery is only 4 months old but sat unused for a number of months. I’m hopeful it comes back to 100% but that remains to be seen??
My car battery was completely dead from letting it sit all winter, I jumped it, got it started and it ran but didn’t hold a good enough charge. I then put it on the charger for my 4 wheeler overnight and it’s worked fine since. It still works good, and pushes my subwoofers just fine.
My optima yellow top big version is worst p.o.s. for 400 bucks ever do not waist your cash on these garbage batteries if it makes it past warranty your lucky however I’d never spent 400 bucks for battery that only make it to its warranty date sad and pathetic I have interstate battery that’s 6 yrs old starts every time it’s like a timex watch this yellow turd is simply a turd and not worth half what I paid for it I could bought 2 interstates and had beer money left over optima has moved there plant to Mexico hence the failing quality of what they used to be I contacted them directly they didn’t give a turd so here’s the truth for everyone to read Don’t waist your money there’s better options out there for way less money guys
James your a complete goose. I’ve had my optima blue top D31M battery for 8 years now and never had a problem with it
It starts my 4×4 Colorado ute all day every day without any problems and I’m running a big stereo system which has 4 1000w amps and 3 powered sub’s which consume a lot of power and I only payed $350.oo for it 8 years ago so I totally recommend that you spend a little more money on a quality optima battery and get a longer life span out of it. It’s more than likely that you got 1 of a 10,000 battery that was a dud. So don’t blame 1 bad battery for the quality of optima batteries
STOP BEING A GOOSE AND GET OVER YOUR BAD EXPERIENCE
Optima are Junk … My son bought me one as a gift …the car sat over winter the battery was regularly maintained with a smart charger… its now 5.6 volts and following the double battery recovery method described here its still No Bueno … EXPENSIVE JUNK
Yup. Same here. My yellow top isn’t even a year old and started to not hold a charge. Won’t hold a charge past 10.5v no matter what I do. I lost my receipt and OPTIMA won’t do a darn thing to help. 400$ down the drain. Never again will I buy an OPTIMA battery
Great solution, I had several optimas in my shop, tried 2nd method and brought backe to life,now its in my boat,doing fine.Others will get same treament.Thanks
My optima story started in 1991 when the original battery in my dodge cummins died. A guy at work was selling red top 1000cca seconds for $60 so into the dodge it went. 17 years later It wouldn’t crank the dodge anymore so into my 55 Buick century it went till 2007 and was slow to crank it so I took it out, made a bracket for my riding lawnmower and ran it there till 2020. Still had 12 volts so I used it to trace wires on a 40 Buick I was rewiring. If I had had an agm charger it might still be going. Optima is all I use on all vehicles.
Maybe their older batteries but the two I’ve bought in the last 5 years both went dead. The most recent isn’t even a year old
Well I guess that shows us all that I guess it depends on how you use your optima to whether it will be good or bad for u, because I’ve had one since 2014 (yellow top) still running strong and it just help a brother yellow top that was down to 4.65 or something like that comeback to life so I know they r my go to battery. Just my opinion, but I think if I owned optima I would bend over backwards if it didn’t work for u, u would get your money back no questions asked. But I guess that would b in a perfect world……..
Just like someone already said, Optima used to be the best until they moved their plant.
RIP Yellow Top
RIP Red Top
Sincerely,
Johnnie
I forgot to mention…
The decline in quality can probably be attributed to the Mexican water.
Sincerely,
Johnnie
Is it possible to connect a dead Optima that has sat over a year to a good installed battery in parallel with jumper cables to charge it via the alternator eliminating the charger issue of thinking it’s a faulty battery?