Optima Yellow Top Battery

Someone sent me a PM wanting to know what battery I had in my Commander so I thought I would start a thread here for those who use the Optima Yellow Top.

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/i...aBattery-1.jpg

I purchased mine on 10/20/09 (a little over a year ago) and have had no issues with it since installation. Keep in mind that my Commander sits for long periods of time (sometimes a month) before I will go out and start it and the battery has never let me down.

I installed the Yellow Top model number D34-78, I cannot remember the cost but I will look it up and add it here too.

I have the Warn Powermate Wench and that takes extra power when I am running it but I always use it with the motor running. I have six off-road lights but still have not hooked them up (another project for another day).

What is the difference between the Yellow and Red top batteries by Optima? I also have heard a deep cycle battery (marine use primarily) can be used for our vehicles. I am getting to the point where it's time to replace the original on my '07.

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Originally Posted by strokeZ

What is the difference between the Yellow and Red top batteries by Optima? I also have heard a deep cycle battery (marine use primarily) can be used for our vehicles. I am getting to the point where it's time to replace the original on my '07.

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The Yelow Top is for Deep Cycling & Cranking, the Red Top is for Automotive Starting and the Blue Top is for Marine & RV Applications.

I went with yellow due to the winch and off road lights, I think red would be perfect for a stock vehicle but would recommend yellow or blue for any built up off road vehicle with accessories.

I'm thinking about getting the yellow top for my wife's car. I upgraded her sound system and plan on getting some more stuff for it so I think it would be a good choice. The funny thing is when I searched for optima batteries this thread showed up in the results that was pretty cool. Jon you remember how much you payed for yours.

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Originally Posted by Sal-XK

Jon you remember how much you payed for yours.

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I payed $189.00 for mine.

WOW thats some serious doe. I know she will need one once we add her amps and subs and stuff.

Well the stock battery on mine finally died out. Good thing is that I was at AutoZone at the time. They guys there tried to give it a charge but no go. Bad thing is that they did not have any Optima battery in stock. Soooooo, on a late Sunday afternoon, dead battery, I was forced to get the AZ brand (Duramax Gold). Still was $140 after core exchange. Supposed to have a 3 year 100% exchange warranty, 170 min of run time w/o charge and 8 year life. Shall see. Guess I should have been a bit more pro-active and got what I really wanted.....

An old thread, I know, but I thought I'd add an idea here....

I also have a D34 Yellow Top, and it's been great. However, after having researched the choices that Optima offers (a little late), I see that they have a D35 that may be a better fit. This is because the poles are more towards the edges of the battery so you don't have to stretch and bend the cables to reach. I got a D35 Red Top for my Subaru, and it made the fitment much better.

I can't imagine my D34 dying anytime soon, but I'll be looking into a D35 for the next one.

Link to Optima battery selector D35 (8040-218)

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Originally Posted by lekmedm

An old thread, I know, but I thought I'd add an idea here....

I also have a D34 Yellow Top, and it's been great. However, after having researched the choices that Optima offers (a little late), I see that they have a D35 that may be a better fit. This is because the poles are more towards the edges of the battery so you don't have to stretch and bend the cables to reach. I got a D35 Red Top for my Subaru, and it made the fitment much better.

I can't imagine my D34 dying anytime soon, but I'll be looking into a D35 for the next one.

Link to Optima battery selector D35 (8040-218)

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Thanks for the research, that is a good suggestion (points shared).

What ever you have to do to make a optima fit it's worth the hassle. First there sealed and don't leak while off road and it don't take much of a lean to cause a normal battery to start leaking. My wife left the dual screen DVD player running in her car for over 24hrs I was already getting the jumper cables out when she started it up and it turned over with out hesitation. I can't wait for mine to fail so I can get one of these in my Jeep.

Sweet! I have the same one!

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

I have had mine since Dec 2009. It was only a month old when I bought it from Costco. I think I paid $180 for it. I also have a Red Top in my car, which was taken out of my XJ before that. I have had it for five years now with no problems. I am expecting the same out of my Yellow Top. I am a satisfied Optima customer!

I'm Running Dual Optimas in Mine. A red for the main starter, and a yellow for the main Aux battery via a Redarc Controller. (Ive got another set of AGM's in the rear as well via another controller but these only run the fridge and aux lights etc). Mine are also triggered to automatically join when winching. Ive actually had to use these for around 3 hours on and off without the motor running (radiator chockers with mud and didnt want to overheatit) and still going strong. Hence why i use optimas :D

Made up a custom alloy tray to house the 2 optimas, relocated the fuse boxes etc.

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png
https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

Rear Drawers with twin 55Ah AGM in the rear for the fridge and aux lights, inverter etc.

https://theultimatejeep.com/notfound.png

Dave

I have a red top Optima in my Commander. I thought I would also show you the back battery bank on the Coach. It has a well thought out electrical system. This bank of batteries feeds a 3,000 watt invertor that supplies all of the intertainment outlets so that you can us A/C going down the road without the generator running. The batteries are charged by the engine alternator when driving, the generator or shore power when parked and soon I am adding several solar panels to charge it without any outside electricity source.

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/i...10/00233-1.jpg

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Originally Posted by valpacer

I'm Running Dual Optimas in Mine. A red for the main starter, and a yellow for the main Aux battery via a Redarc Controller. (Ive got another set of AGM's in the rear as well via another controller but these only run the fridge and aux lights etc). Mine are also triggered to automatically join when winching. Ive actually had to use these for around 3 hours on and off without the motor running (radiator chockers with mud and didnt want to overheatit) and still going strong. Hence why i use optimas :D

Made up a custom alloy tray to house the 2 optimas, relocated the fuse boxes etc.



Rear Drawers with twin 55Ah AGM in the rear for the fridge and aux lights, inverter etc.



Dave

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That's a nice setup I like the dual optima batteries. I never though about relocating the fuse box I put mine on the other side of the bay but I can see plenty of benefits to having them side by side I'll have to take a look and rethink my setup now.

Well, after 101,000 miles it looks like I need to replace my original battery in my XK. I have a winch which I rarely use. The rest of my use is whatever they put on the 07 Limited, Hemi,sunroof, NAV, stereo, rear DVD etc.

I assume for now it is the battery. Yesterday morning I tried to unlock the doors with the key fob and noticed they didn't work and it wouldn't start until I put the charger on for a few minutes. Drove it yesterday with stops and starts no problem but dead again this morning.

I don't want to replace the battery and find out there was an electrical drain somewhere.

Anyway, everybody still happy with Optima Yellow Tops? Any other suggestions on battery choice or how to verify it isn't a discharge drain?

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Originally Posted by GPintheMitten

Any other suggestions on battery choice or how to verify it isn't a discharge drain?

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Go get your battery tested, they will tell you if it is still healthy my man. Then you will know there is a drain somewhere.

101k on a battery is pretty darn good, so me thinks its dead or dying. I have No experience with any optima, however.

Thanks, BonesWK. I'm charging it now. I'll stop by an auto parts store and get it tested.

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/i...wBattery-1.jpg

You recommend the red over the yellow?

Yellow is the starting battery. You can go to optima.com to look them up by what the colors mean. If you get red you might have problems. But I recommend you take a look at the site so you know you read it

Red is a starting battery.
Yellow is a starting/deep cycle battery.

You will have no problem if you run a red, I went with yellow because of extra electronics and for running higher powered lights and such in the future. Since you have a winch you may want to go with a yellow also, but a red wouldn't be a bad choice.

I have had 0 problems with the Red Top. I will never put extra lights on becuase I dont like how it looks, and it will never have a winch. So far she has left the interior lights on overnight, and it still started the next morning. I will put a Yellow Top in the TJ for the winch though

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Originally Posted by hoaxci5

Red is a starting battery.
Yellow is a starting/deep cycle battery.

You will have no problem if you run a red, I went with yellow because of extra electronics and for running higher powered lights and such in the future. Since you have a winch you may want to go with a yellow also, but a red wouldn't be a bad choice.

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Agreed.

I have a yellow top in my Overland which is packed with electronics. Never had an issue, so I guess I'm pretty happy with it. I put a red top in my wife's Subaru Outback XT, and that's been working out great as well.

Optima is expensive, but it'll give you peace of mind.

I have had a Red Top in the Commander for a couple of years with no problems at all.

I just put two Blue Top Optimas in the Stacker for the Car lift and other 12 volt uses.

One important thing to know if you are using two 12 volt batteries in parallel is that you should connect the positive cable to one and the negative cable to the other. When you connect both cables to one battery and simply wire the other one in parallel you end up depleting the first battery faster and if will fail before the second. It seems like it would not matter, but it does. Just a heads up.
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Thanks guys.

Well I had the auto parts store check my battery. It showed good and so did the starter and alternator using their tester. So I stopped by the dealer to have them check for an unauthorized amp draw. Their tests showed good battery, starter and alternator as well. I only had a few milli-amps draw, appropriate for maintaining the clock, memories etc.

He said with a battery this old, (original over 4 years, with 110,000 miles), it is probably sulfation and I should get a new battery. I went ahead and just got another battery like the one that came with my XK for $150. They cleaned the terminals etc. I had good service with that battery and if this one lasts that long, I'll be happy.

So I got my colors mixed up :p that's why I said more then once to read the site. I put a yellow in the wife's car she left the rear dual DVDs running all night car started right up the next day :) and those testers those guys are using are junk. The old school ones that put an actual heavy 5sec load on the battery are the only ones I trust. When this battery goes in the XK or my wife's new car there both getting a yellow top well worth the extra few bucks. :)

I showed up late to the party but... I have a yellow top and it has performed perfectly for the AZ heat and having a winch.

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Originally Posted by GPintheMitten

I went ahead and just got another battery like the one that came with my XK for $150. They cleaned the terminals etc. I had good service with that battery and if this one lasts that long, I'll be happy.

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Shucks, for about $160 you could have gotten an Optima online. For about $70 you could have gotten a decent, original size battery from Walmart. I have heard good things about their batteries, and they have a 3 year warranty, I think.

I didn't think the $150 I paid for the wife's yellow top was to pricey myself.


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Did you swap out the new battery before you traded her car for the new one?

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Originally Posted by Sal-XK

I didn't think the $150 I paid for the wife's yellow top was to pricey myself.


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Originally Posted by cico7

Did you swap out the new battery before you traded her car for the new one?

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No :( I didn't even think about until we got home then it hit me I was so mad. A day late a dollar short


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could we do a group buy of the yellow optimas and get a better price?

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Originally Posted by cico7

could we do a group buy of the yellow optimas and get a better price?

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hmm that sounds good, but how with all of us in different areas?

I have been rocking a yellow top in the WK for the past 2.5 years and love it. I have a red top that was in my XJ and then moved to my car that has been performing beautifully for the past 6 years!