Which OPTIMA battery to use?

[mountainbiker]

Disregard the previous post.

Those batteries are 10" long. I tried another 10" battery this evening that the base service station had; however, it wouldn't fit (at least not without some cutting). I am trying to find a nearby Optima dealer with some of the other models available that are just over 9" long.

I am getting the sh*ts of my battery leaving me standing there with my jumper cables.

[mountainbiker]

Originally Posted by DesertDan

I put in a Red Top.

It came with a different clamp/clip that fits at the bottom of the battery. The nylon strap is too loose with the optima and the plastic cover needs to be trimmed to make room for the sight change in the terminal locations.

DesertDan would you happen to know the Red Top part number? Can you describe or show a picture of the clamp/clip you used? Can you describe or show a picture of the mod you made to the plastic cover?


Trying to find a battery for my H3 overseas is turning out to be a pain. I can get one at the HUMMER dealer, but it is $368 and a 6-hour roundtrip to collect it. They cannot ship it to me as they don't have a courier to transport acid filled batteries. (I bet this same battery is $100 back in the States.)

I can get a gel battery like the Optima ($40-80 cheaper) shipped, but who really wants to take the Dremel drill to their new car to make it fit?

• Who has bought a replacement ACDelco P/N 86-7YR? Cost?
• Who has had their ACDeleco battery replaced with another free by their dealer?
• Who has replaced their battery with another brand like the Optima? What was the part number?

[mountainbiker]

I pulled out my POS dead ACDelco (P/N 86-7YR) battery. It is making a nice paper weight in my garage. I also have a paper weight in the driveway called a H3.

I will trade you some battery specs below for pictures of your gel cell battery installed in your battery tray, and a description or pictures of your battery tray mods:

ACDelco (P/N 86-7YR)

690CCA and 50Ah

L: 9" *
* The battery box has plastic tabs on each end. If you remove the 3 tabs on one end, then you'd get about another 1/2". If you removed a wire fastener and 3 tabs on the other end, you'd get another 1/2". A 10" L battery would be tight.

W: 6-3/4 - 7" **
** The base of the battery is 7" but then it tapers in slightly to 6-3/4". I think if it was a straight 7", you might have an issue with the metal bracket that holds the nylon strap.

H: 8-1/4" ***
*** This includes 1" for the posts.

The battery box lid has some extra big holes for the terminals. On the width side, they are centered between 5" + 1-3/4". On the length side, they are like 0.8" + 7.3" + 0.8". It will be hard to understand, so it is probably easier for you to measure this one yourself.

Optima 25, 35, and 75/25

720CCA and 44Ah

L: 9.313”
W: 6.813”
H: 7.625”

Optima 34 and 34/78

800CCA and 50Ah

L: 10”
W: 6.875”
H: 7.813”

[mountainbiker]

A funny joke for you


What do you get when you have a POS one of these?





A (brand-new) driveway paper weight !!!

[mountainbiker]

Well, I just went up to the base Auto Skills Center and put in my new battery. I ordered the Optima Red Top Series 25 (or S 3,7 as it is called here). For me here, it cost just over $200 with shipping.

The Series 25 sat very nicely in the base of the H3's 9-inch long battery box. I went to the grinder and grinded a channel in the retaining wedge (that sits a top of the battery retaining strap). The channel was about the depth and width of the nut that holds it down. This allowed me to tighten the strap down nice and securely. I tried to reuse the battery box lid, but the Series 25 sits just a hair lower, and the holes in the cover were not a perfect match for the posts. I am not sure at this writing if I will leave uncovered like most of you, or enlarge the holes. I tried to push out by hand the plastic fastener holding the battery box's breather tube, but it didn't want to move. I'll save that for another day.

It will probably be another week before I can drive it as my H3 is all torn a part doing the light modification. It really blows having to tear your brand new car a part.

BTW: Anyone have a good mailing address for the HUMMER Customer Assistance Center? I want to submit a warranty claim for a battery that was sh*t at 74 miles. I emailed HUMMER.com two days ago, but I haven't received a response yet.

[mountainbiker]

My brand new battery is dead. Either my friend accidently left the door ajar overnight (which I am hoping but doubt), or I have a problem worse than a two dead batteries (OEM and Optima). I think I better go reread the forum battery discussions.

[fourfourto]

Originally Posted by mountainbiker

My brand new battery is dead. Either my friend accidently left the door ajar overnight (which I am hoping but doubt), or I have a problem worse than a two dead batteries (OEM and Optima). I think I better go reread the forum battery discussions.

If the door is left open the light will go out in apx 15 to 20 minutes.
try a current drain test.Dealer should do this under warranty
Good luck