colonel Posted July 14, 2019 Share Posted July 14, 2019 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IvOZPDkcYpqZ0FNuDYwCVZCvsv509n7f/view?usp=drivesdk I have had this yellow top battery for about 6 years. Just recently I bought a fancy aluminum top for it before going to the First Generation Monte Carlo Meet in Penticton in June. On the trip I drove trough about 8 hours of rain and found some damage to the top of it when I got there when I got to cleaning the car for the show. Couldn't understand why but there it was and I coudn't do anything about it so satisfied myself with rinsing the area with extra water. Next day I put my trickle charger on it and set the black plastic cap I have covering the negative top post terminal on top of the aluminum cover. When I went to remove the charger and put the cap back on I found another ring of damage from the cap. Scratching of the head again, rinsed the area and didn't set the cap on the cover again so no more damage noticed. I thought these batteries were dry for some reason but their claim to fame it that they are sealed as there is acid/water in them but they just can't be filled or leak. Had further car issues once I was home so didn't drive it again until I got some things checked out then cleaned up the car for a local car show of a fellow FGMCC member July 13. When I did I found even more stuff going on down there so doused the area with baking soda water and rinsed and dried the area throughly and drove off to the car show. Noticed some other white spots below the battery once I got there so wiped that up and made a point of digging into this when I got home. Pulled off the black cap that covers the negative terminal and got some liquid on my finger that stung so I instantly realized there was an acid leak that somehow got under the cap. Backed the car out of the garage and did the baking soda thing again and took a very close look at that terminal and you see what I found in the video. Pulled the car back in the garage and pulled out the battery and set it on some wood. Those top post terminals have either had the plastic caps on them or the clamps for the trickle charger so don't see how anything could have damaged the post. Totally bizarre to me. What you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colonel Posted July 20, 2019 Author Share Posted July 20, 2019 Well I contacted Optima and after a few emails back and forth the official response was not something they have seen before thus are not concerned about it. There are some hits when you search Optima battery leak and one I found had the same problem but was on a red top version. They did offer me a 20% discount on a new one ordered from their website but they don't deliver them to Canada so can't take advantage of that if I even wanted to. I do have the discount code though so if anyone in the states want to order a battery through their website contact me and I can provide the code. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bell Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Optima batteries have been discussed many times over the last few years over on LS1tech. Some years ago, more than six I'd say, production was moved out of the US to Mexico. Quality took a hit and there were a lot of complaints. A Optima rep even came onto LS1tech to try to explain things but he ended up not being able to answer some questions or explain some problems. He eventually became unresponsive. I would say it's time for a new battery. Look into Odyssey Extreme or an AGM battery from Braile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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