Topic: Battery (was Re: Warn VR10000 Winch Review)

[95yjman]

I have a VR series also and I haven't used it that much but I'm pretty happy with it so far when I have used it.  So you are pretty happy with the battery?  I want to get a new battery for my jeep to handle the winch and I have heard negitive stuff about the red and yellow tops.  I had a Yellow top in my YJ that did great..Where did you get your die hard at?

[sharpxmen]

i have a red top and even after a year of sitting and drained bone dry it recharged and ran strong (it's over 5 years old), i would not buy anything else than an optima for the Jeep to be honest, double the price but at least 3 times as good.

[95yjman]

Thats kind of where I'm at, I loved my yellow top but with a bunch of recent reviews on people having issues its like dang, should I spend the money on one...

[Jeffy]

I have a VR series also and I haven't used it that much but I'm pretty happy with it so far when I have used it.  So you are pretty happy with the battery?  I want to get a new battery for my jeep to handle the winch and I have heard negitive stuff about the red and yellow tops.  I had a Yellow top in my YJ that did great..Where did you get your die hard at?

You can only get Die Hard's at Sears and maybe Kmart.  Die Hard is an exclusive brand to the Sears.  You want to get a Platinum series which is made my Odyssey Batteries. It out performs the Optima's with more CCA as it's a Deep Cycle.

BTW: here's my Red Top that I'm still using.

[sharpxmen]

wow, 14 years and counting

[neale_rs]

Very impressive. It seems my yellow top went bad today with only 4 years of use.

[sharpxmen]

Very impressive. It seems my yellow top went bad today with only 4 years of use.

it happened to me to have the door switch bad and the light stayed on, it drained the battery - something similar that might have done that in your case

check where you bought it though, i got mine at walmart and they said i don`t need the receipt to get warranty (5 years) - they would check the s/n on it, worth a shot.

[neale_rs]

it happened to me to have the door switch bad and the light stayed on, it drained the battery - something similar that might have done that in your case

check where you bought it though, i got mine at walmart and they said i don`t need the receipt to get warranty (5 years) - they would check the s/n on it, worth a shot.

Here in Mexico they only have a one year replacement warranty and out to 24 months with a prorated deal where you get a discount on another battery.  I've had several batteries go bad due to getting fully drained but that never happened to this one.  That voltage drop of exactly 2 volts sure points to one cell going bad. 

[Bounty Hunter]

Optima batteries are very finicky when it comes to recharging, they do best with the smallest amount of amp charge for the longest time possible.  There's a specific charge procedure Optima recommends, may be on their website.  Many of those Optimas may not be bad afterall, just charged improperly.

Love my BlueTop Optima, same Deep Cycle/Starting battery as the Yellow Top with the addition of threaded stainless steel posts on top.

[dwtaylorpdx]

I've seen several quit after being discharged and left dead for a few days. (Race cars...)

We have a very expensive charger in the shop that has selectors for each battery type and it couldnt get them to charge...

LIkely some luck involved..

Cheers.

Dave

[stan98tj]

I run the DieHard Platinum with my VR10,000. The battery is heavy duty and handles the draw just fine. It also has excellent cold weather cranking and can handle heavy drains. I had originally wanted to run an Optima but after some online research I found that newer Optimas are not US made and have had some significant quality issues.

[neale_rs]

Did a winch pull this weekend with a lead acid battery rated at 650 CCA and 110 reserve minutes.  It worked just fine.  It was a typical short pull just to get unstuck. I turned the Jeep off right after the pull and it started right up afterwards. I have no idea how winching will affect the life of this battery but at a local cost of 1/3 what an Optima costs, it will be interesting to see how it works out for me (no other high amp accessories have been added to my YJ, no extra lights, no electric fan, it doesn't even have a radio).  One drawback will be keeping corrosion off the connections, the optima required no cleaning for 4 years.

[Jeffy]

Did a winch pull this weekend with a lead acid battery rated at 650 CCA and 110 reserve minutes.  It worked just fine.  It was a typical short pull just to get unstuck. I turned the Jeep off right after the pull and it started right up afterwards. I have no idea how winching will affect the life of this battery but at a local cost of 1/3 what an Optima costs, it will be interesting to see how it works out for me (no other high amp accessories have been added to my YJ, no extra lights, no electric fan, it doesn't even have a radio).  One drawback will be keeping corrosion off the connections, the optima required no cleaning for 4 years.

It will depend.  How many times have you drained your battery?  That's what really kills the battery.  If you have an upgraded alternator then it shouldn't be too bad as long as your not doing really long pulls.  Keep the idle up and it will try to keep the battery charged.  Let it drain all the way often and it will die.

[neale_rs]

I don't think I've ever drained my batteries too much.  Kind of hard to know for sure but it's never been enough to cause a hard start after a winch pull.  Most pulls have been pretty short, just a few feet although some long pulls of maybe 30 feet have been done at times to get a vehicle all the way up out of a stream bed or something like that.  Warn just asks for minimum of 650 CCA, and that might have some leeway factored in.

[Jeffy]

I don't think I've ever drained my batteries too much.  Kind of hard to know for sure but it's never been enough to cause a hard start after a winch pull.  Most pulls have been pretty short, just a few feet although some long pulls of maybe 30 feet have been done at times to get a vehicle all the way up out of a stream bed or something like that.  Warn just asks for minimum of 650 CCA, and that might have some leeway factored in.

4 years isn't bad if it was a regular battery.  Though I'd expect more from an Optima.  I know they had a lot of issues when Johnson Control moved Optima to Mexico.  I'm still wary around their quality.  I'd try shocking the battery to see if you can get it running again.

You might try these:

http://www.hotrod.com/techarticles/general/hrdp_1009_how_to_charge_a_agm_battery/viewall.html
http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/9356-Optima-battery-info