I put in a new Optima a few months ago, and now I have a problem. Haven't moved my truck for about a week, and now the %$#@&^ battery is dead. It's been pretty cold, but not THAT cold. Can't seem to find any accessory that was left on or anything simple like that. Anybody had a problem like this before? I had my alt checked when I put in the new battery, and it was still kickin' out a whoppin' 42 amps.
Thanks for any help,
Chad

charge it up, then put a test light or volt meter inline with the neg battery post, if it draws power start pulling fuses untill the light goes out, it's in that circut.

I thought the toyota alt. was suppose to put out 60-70 Amps???

i have a red top about 6months old that has never seemed to start good after sitting even for 24 hours,and this is driving it to fully charged and dic.it overnight.it is worse when it gets colder.

Originally posted by Bill Collins
i have a red top about 6months old that has never seemed to start good after sitting even for 24 hours,and this is driving it to fully charged and dic.it overnight.it is worse when it gets colder. Sounds like you got a short someplace or a draw of some type. Do what SeaBass said.!!!! This happened to me with my amp(when I had one) I wired it wrong and it was on all the time!!!!!:rolleyes:

Rick,
My truck doesn't have A/C, so I don't think it is that big. Also, that reading was taken at idle. I just had the kid across the street that works at Knechts check it with his meter. Said it was good. I'll try the neg post thing with the meter and fuse pullin business and see if I get anywhere. Thanks

Originally posted by 4RnrRick
I thought the toyota alt. was suppose to put out 60-70 Amps??? most stock gm toy ect 35-45

Originally posted by Bill Collins
i have a red top about 6months old that has never seemed to start good after sitting even for 24 hours,and this is driving it to fully charged and dic.it overnight.it is worse when it gets colder.

It sounds like your starter to me. I had that kind of problem too, i just put a Ford Solenoid in and that solved the problem. I think its just that the starter solenoids are old and when its cold they shrink ever so slightly so the connection is not good enough to start the motor. It wouldn't start once or twice then it would catch. Try this if it aint a problem with the battery or short or whatever.

well, since we are here.
I am in the market for a optima...
am i to understand that the yellow top is the deep cycle and the blue top is the marine battery?
am also looking for prices on them.

Two possibilities:

1) Starter contacts - is the battery really dead or will it just not start? If you haven't swapped the contacts, I'd try it. It's cheap and easy.

2) CB Radio - You wouldn't happen to have a Cobra 25, would you? Mine killed two red tops before I figured out it was pulling current all the time, enve when off. The local CB shop said he'd had that complaint before. Something to do with the wetherband feature.

Mark

Originally posted by SeaBass44
most stock gm toy ect 35-45


According to Haynes they came in three flavors, 40, 55, and 60 amp.

'79-'80 trucks had either 40 or 55s, '81-'84 carbed trucks had 40A Tirrill type regulated alternators that were later dicontinued. IC regulated alternators in these years could be any of the three. '85-'88 they all got 60A alternators.

Sounds like a parasitic drain on the battery but could also just be the battery itself. I've had a couple (not Optima) here at the shop that would discharge themselves because of an internal short.

Using a digital meter, connect the DVOM inline of the negative terminal and battery post. Set the DVOM to milliamps or amps under 2volt.

Maximum draw on the battery with nothing visably on is about 30ma. That is also on the newer vehicles with all the computers and such. Normal is 5-10ma with a clock and stereo and such


Like mentioned, start disconnecting stuff and pulling fuses one at a time to fine the parasitic drain.

what i am trying to say.is my red top will run down on it's own unhooked from batt cables and all.like maybe the cells are not holding...

Originally posted by MoonDog



According to Haynes they came in three flavors, 40, 55, and 60 amp.

'79-'80 trucks had either 40 or 55s, '81-'84 carbed trucks had 40A Tirrill type regulated alternators that were later dicontinued. IC regulated alternators in these years could be any of the three. '85-'88 they all got 60A alternators.
I was close;)....my buddys new alt on his 90 was putting out like 37amp, I will be adding a 160amp to mine:D with 2 exide gel cells 1100ca, & 200amp rely to isolate them. should do the job:p

My turn :(. I tried the voltmeter inline method and have a constant 10 volt reading. I did the fuses one at a time, no change (did all, add-on stuff, under hood, and passenger compartment). Disconnected winch power, no change. Disconnected the main fusible link to the charging system, draw dropped to 5 volts :confused: . Any ideas?? I'm probably going to have to wait until I move the crap to the buggy.

Originally posted by RE:Todd
My turn :(. I tried the voltmeter inline method and have a constant 10 volt reading. I did the fuses one at a time, no change (did all, add-on stuff, under hood, and passenger compartment). Disconnected winch power, no change. Disconnected the main fusible link to the charging system, draw dropped to 5 volts :confused: . Any ideas?? I'm probably going to have to wait until I move the crap to the buggy.

todd. You need to check it an amp meter less then a 1/2 amp on older vehicle is ok. :flipoff2:If you need help pm me

another shot in the dark here, Chad.....but does your horn work? Seems like some of the dead batteries out there can be caused by a horn relay stuck in the blow position......when that happens, people just disco the wire at the horn itself and figure it's ok. Well, it's not ok because the relay is still drawing 1.5 amps all the time. Just a shot.....did I hit anything?

Originally posted by ZUK
another shot in the dark here, Chad.....but does your horn work? Seems like some of the dead batteries out there can be caused by a horn relay stuck in the blow position......when that happens, people just disco the wire at the horn itself and figure it's ok. Well, it's not ok because the relay is still drawing 1.5 amps all the time. Just a shot.....did I hit anything? from what I read, toys have constant power to the horn, the botton completes the ground, so that would not be it;)

Try the alternator.

The alternator in my car went bad and killed 2 optima red tops :mad:

Originally posted by 3Wheel_Drive


Rhinoceruses don't wear shirts! Rhinoceruses don't play games either, They f*cking charge your ass. It doesn't get any more serious than a Rhinocerus about to charge your ass.

:D :D Ha Ha Ha, where is this quote from? I can attest to the truth of this statement...I took this photo a few years ago in Botswana. Durn thang came about 3 feet from the truck before we were able to gain some speed and make our escape. It doesn't get any more serious than that.

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=500/118002rhino.jpg

Back on topic, though. I don't have any electrical testing equipment, so whenever I question if my battery's good or not I take it to Autozone for the free diagnosis. At least you could rule out the possibility of a bad battery. I've heard of some red tops being defective right off the shelf so it may not hurt to check.

Originally posted by SeaBass44
from what I read, toys have constant power to the horn, the botton completes the ground, so that would not be it;)

my bad.

well my red top is dead again.drove it yesterday and was starting great,parked it and unhooked cables,now it will not start since i got home for work.yea i hooked the batt back up before yall ask:flipoff2: it is cold today,and everytime it gets cold the batt.dies...

I think your battery is no more good.

1: Charge the battery
2: Volt meter test across the 2 posts: when the engine is running it will charge about 14 to 14.8 volts
3: let your battery sit for a while, check the voltage again with the truck NOT running you should have 12volts if anything lower then the battery is almost surely defective. Try borrowing another battery and see if it will solve the problem

i have many toyota's,i did swap batt.with another truck.same problem when the redtop is on another truck...

Originally posted by Bill Collins
i have many toyota's,i did swap batt.with another truck.same problem when the redtop is on another truck... :confused: The other truck then has the problem??

There you go problem solved battery is caput!!:bounce:

Originally posted by Rescue
There you go problem solved battery is caput!!:bounce: i think so,maybe it is under warr.still