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#1
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Dead or Dying Optima?
Hello: I bought my 64 in 2005 with a red top Optima in it, I have had no trouble starting it over the years; albeit, I only drive a couple hundred miles a year. I religiously keep it on a Battery Tender.
About a month ago I drove it to the gas station, cranked and ran fine. After filling the tank, it would not start, just a "click" sound. I was on a hill so I bump started it and it and got it home. Once home, I turned it off and it started again fine. I let it sit overnight without the Tender, still worked fine. I inspected the visible cables, saw nothing obvious so I chalked it up to a sixties technology gremlin and put it back on the Tender. Yesterday, I started it to wash and wax it, no problems at all, got it in and out of the garage. Today, I needed to move it and it cranked great once but did not fire so I hit it again, "clickity, clickity, clickity". Kept trying and then just the single "click". Tried jump starting it off my 2014 Silverado and it will only crank very, very slow. I let it sit with the jumpers on for a half hour and still barely turns over. Anyway, I believe the 15-plus year old Optima is likely the culprit but wanted to share for thoughts and advice. Thanks, Rick
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#2
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Sounds like a loose ground or battery cable connection. Usually a bad battery isn't intermittent.
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#3
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For it to be intermittent, I'd check both cables. I've had corroded cables cause starting issues. Up here in the north they like to corrode in the body of the wire where you can't see it.
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"Those poor souls have made the fatal mistake of surrounding us. Now we can fire in any direction" 1970 Trans Am RAIII 4 speed 1971 Trans Am 5.3 LM7 1977 Trans Am W72 Y82 1987 Grand National |
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#4
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Check your battery voltage at rest and cranking. If it goes below 10 V. its done.
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1968 Firebird 400 RAII M21, 3.31 12 bolt, Mayfair Maize. 1977 Trans Am W72 400, TH350, 3.23 T Top Everyone you will ever meet knows something you don't. Bill Nye. |
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#5
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Does sound like a bad connection but that optima is 15+ years old they are awesome batteries but that’s old for a battery.
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#6
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Exact same symptoms I had when my Optima died.
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#7
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Put a voltmeter on it, like Ted Sed!
Also agree with Paul K, a bad battery is not usually intermittent Static Voltage ~12.6 fully charged battery and voltage drop for below 10.2, all good electrical diagnosis's start at the battery. Check on the actual battery posts, and work out from there under load for voltage drop. (Or go straight to the starter motor connections after confirming a good battery and terminal connections. A similar thread recently.....dirty battery cable terminals to battery, nothing visible! http://forums.maxperformanceinc.com/...=838611&page=2 Last edited by STEELCITYFIREBIRD; 03-31-2020 at 08:17 PM. |
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#8
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BTW....my optima was about 18 years old. I still have it in the garage to test motors etc as it still reads 12V.....it was just becoming to unreliable to start the car consistently. Checking cables and connections never hurts, but the battery is 15 years old...
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#9
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Bad starter or bad connections
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466 Mike Voycey shortblock, 310cfm SD KRE heads, SD "OF 2.0 cam", torker 2 373 gears 3200 Continental Convertor best et 10.679/127.5/1.533 60ft 308 gears best et 10.76/125.64/1.5471 |
#10
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Only thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is a possible bad solenoid. If it's a stock starter, the solenoid is the weakest link in the system.
I know that battery is old, but with it acting wildly intermittent, it seems more like a solenoid to me. I've had a few over the years act that way (on different vintage Pontiac's), and every time, it was the solenoid. Swap the solenoid, and the problem vanishes. Just a thought. Hope that helps.
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Eric "Todd" Mitten '74 Bonneville 4dr Sedan (455/TH400/2.93 open) '72 LeMans GT (455/M-13/3.23 [8.5"] posi) '71 GTO Hardtop (400/TH400/3.07 12 bolt posi) ‘71 GTO Convertible (455HO/TH400/3.23 posi) '67 GTO Coupe (455/ST-10/2.93 posi) '67 Tempest Wagon (428/TH400/2.56 posi) Deuteronomy 8:3 |
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#11
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If you turn on your headlights and then try to Crank the motor, then if the headlights do not dim you have 4 possible things that could be going wrong.
This assumes that the battery is reading at a static 12 volts. 1) Bad ignition switch. 2) Bad starter. 3) Bad connections at the Battery and Or starter end of the cables. 4) A combo of 2 and 3. On many Pontiacs with headers if your stuck somewhere you can take a long heavy shank screw driver, feed it thru gaps in the tubes and place a short across the Battery terminal on the starter and the small ignition switch terminal and get the motor to Crank when it's just a case of the starter solenoid, but be very careful to not have the screwdriver shank touch anything else that's metal and grounded otherwise the current from the Battery will weld the screwdriver to it with the real likelihood of having a fire! Many times if the starter has a bad Armature and or Brushes you will still hear the stater Solenoid click the drive gear into the flywheel, yet the headlights will barely dim from this light load. By the way, that Battery does not owe you even 1/2 a cent if it turns out to be bad after all the time you have had it for, lol!
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Wernher Von Braun warned before his retirement from NASA back in 1972, that the next world war would be against the ETs! And he was not talking about 1/8 or 1/4 mile ETs! 1) 1940s 100% silver 4 cup tea server set. Two dry rotted 14 x 10 Micky Thompson slicks. 1) un-mailed in gift coupon from a 1972 box of corn flakes. Two pairs of brown leather flip flops, never seen more then 2 mph. Education is what your left with once you forget things! Last edited by steve25; 04-01-2020 at 06:56 AM. |
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#12
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Voltage drop tests will give you an accurate diagnosis.
Check terminal post, then cable lug to pinpoint a bad connection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhRPLgH6uZg If your going to jump solenoid, use a jumper wire ....less you can't wait for 4th of July! Stay healthy my friend! Last edited by STEELCITYFIREBIRD; 04-01-2020 at 08:18 AM. |
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#13
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Thanks everyone, I left it on the Tender overnight and got the clickety, clickety, clickety drill action this morning. I measured voltage and have 12.6 but not sure that addresses potential amperage issues. I am going to take the battery in for a load test after this virus thing clears but in the interim, I will jack the car up and attempt the voltage drop tests.
Worst case I can get that new battery and mini-starter I been hankering for! lol Stay Safe! Rickster One thing kinda bothersome is why I couldn't get a good jump start (?). It would crank when jumper was connected but really, really, really slow (?).
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Last edited by Koppster; 04-01-2020 at 09:15 AM. |
#14
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Update:
Full disclosure, I checked the battery voltage at the top post but the cables are connected to the side post option. That said, the battery was still at 12.6 and when we cranked it dropped to 3.6/3.8 during cranking and then rested at 10.2 after the crank. Thanks for the comments. Rick
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#15
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RIP Optima!
The 12.6 was a surface charge, a short run of the headlights will likely drop your static voltage too. |
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#16
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If your getting a click at the starter without the motor trying to turn even the least bit then the starter is bad without a doubt!
I have the same issue going on with my Subaru right now and for the last Month I have been driving around with a new starter in my back seat waiting for the day when 35 or so try's at cranking the motor does not work, lol!
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Wernher Von Braun warned before his retirement from NASA back in 1972, that the next world war would be against the ETs! And he was not talking about 1/8 or 1/4 mile ETs! 1) 1940s 100% silver 4 cup tea server set. Two dry rotted 14 x 10 Micky Thompson slicks. 1) un-mailed in gift coupon from a 1972 box of corn flakes. Two pairs of brown leather flip flops, never seen more then 2 mph. Education is what your left with once you forget things! |
#17
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Easiest way to check- swap batteries with another vehicle. See if their battery works in your car, and vice versa. A lot easier than crawling under vehicle and cleaner too.
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#18
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Quote:
I wouldn't hesitate to get another one. Jim |
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#19
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Bad battery!
Quote:
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#20
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So, I tried the battery swap thing but with a twist. I only have access to Toyota top posters so I used jumper cables to experiment. I pulled the battery out of a Corolla and jumper connected the Optima, nothing, not even a click. I jumper connected the Toyota's good battery to the GTO and it turned over, slowly but it turned over. So I'm betting it's the battery at this point.
My plan is to get it tested once the quarantine lifts. I also might use this as an opportunity to add to my tool resources, looking at a Foxwell BT705 battery tester on Amazon. We've got 7 cars in our family "fleet" so it might be worth the investment. Then I can bug you guys about what it tells me! LOL Thanks, Rick
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