Problem after problem and rant about optima battery :thumbsdown: long*

Ok.. So for the last 6 or so months I have been having idle problems. Usually sticking to 2000rpm until I turn off the car and start it again several times until it will idle properly. Sometimes I would rev the engine and the idle would drop back down to base and then at the next set of lights be back up to 2000rpm until I rev it again. Other times it will stay on 2000rpm regardless of what I do.

Wykked cured my 'stalling coming to a stop at the lights' problem 'base idle was to low'.

I decided to remove all of the IAA and the Air Regulator unit. The Air regulator seemed fine, in tact, correct resistance across the plug however the terminals were dirty as hell. I cleaned them up and also gave the internals of the unit a clean.

The IAA also had badly corroded terminals, after cleaning them I checked the resistance across both sets of terminals and they seemed fine. The inside of the two units 'AAC and FICD' were extremely dirty. I cleaned these out very well, tested the click with 12v applied and all was fine.

I re-installed all of these and started the car up to have the idle hovering around 1500rpm. I tried to adjust the base idle by unplugging the AAC connector as per the tech article and with the idle screw all the way in, the idle doesn't go lower than ~1300rpm. When I plug the AAC connecter back on it remains the same. Something doesn't seem right here?

Here is what I also can't understand. I started the car again, and the idle was stuck on 2000rpm. When I disconnect the AAC connector it drops down to ~1000-1100rpm but once I plug it back in it goes straight back up to 2000rpm??? I unplugged the TPS a few times and that dropped the idle slightly but once I plugged it back in it didn't really make much of a difference.

Driving the car, the idle was sitting on ~2000rpm and wouldn't drop regardless of what I did, starting it again, it was on 2000rpm and whenever I gave it a rev, it would drop down to about ~1200rpm.

I have no idea what else I can check?? I doubt dirty throttle bodies could cause this much fuss?

Would anyone have any idea as what could cause this?

I also had to jump start the car as it sat there for over a month without being started. I have an Optima yellow top 'with an apparent 6 month shelf life'. I think it is on its way out because every time I turn off the car, even after driving 'voltage sits at ~14v while driving' once I turn the car off, the voltage slowly drops down on the battery to ~11.5v and I require a jump or roll start again.

I am not sure if I will buy another one of these. I was impressed for a while but when I see that some of my friends have $80 180cca batteries in their imports and play their music while the car is off on a regular basis, their batteries have lasted a very long time.

I played music for about 30min very softly and I had to roll start!!!

My girlfriend has a standard battery in her magna 3L V6 and has had it in there for about the same time as my optima, plays her music all the time while driving, and while the car is off and it is still going strong. I think these batteries are overrated now and will probably purchase a cheap standard battery next time. The $400 I spent on it wasn't really worth ~2 years and 4 months of battery life.

One question about it though, can it be re-charged? I don't know if it can because it's a dry cell battery or does this make no difference when using a normal battery charger?


Thanks

meth

 

I don't have an answer but i want one...I have the same idle problem

and gone thru the same traces as you, still sits at 1050-1300 and sticks at 1500 sometimes...TB's clean and AAV cleaned and functioning altho the adjustment screw is done all the way up...TPS on the voltage. I've pulled up stumps on this one.

 

Hi Paul, hope some of this helps

The Battery - fine to go on any charger. If it has high and low charge - go high for a couple of hours & then low for 24 hours. Being a combination deep cycle & start battery it does have a limited life in terms of number of cycles or it could have developed a memory and is not charging properly.

After you charge it connect up a small globe & let the battery drain flat then repeat the charge process and see how it goes.

Re: the weird idle

1. is the cold start system still in place?
2. if idle is high ecu can't regulate
3. with cold start, aac & ficd all disconnected what can you adjust idle down to?

 

Frustrating I know, but....

it sounds like you might have a dud battery, or at least one that's on the edge. Bit of a pita when you've paid so much for it, too. I have been using Odyssey batteries for years, which are a similar design and performance to the Optima. I bought one of the Zed, and it did exactly the same thing that you have experienced with my Zed. It turns out that Odyssey seemed to have a bad batch a few years ago, which they will not admit to. I have two other Odyssey batteries - one has lasted over 7 years with minimal use and quite a few 'dead flat' scenarios, which would kill a normal battery, but it's still going fine. The other doesn't get used any more, but it still retains charge for over 6 months.

I'd suggest sticking with an Odyssey/Optima, but searching around for a better price (I bought mine for under $300), and also getting your charging voltage checked.

In answer to your question, yes they can be charged, but the car alternator (if it's working OK) is probably the best method to charge them.

Use of stereos while the engine is not running is more to do with reserve capacity than battery quality. The big advantages of the Odyssey and Optima batteries is that they have a huge cold cranking amps capacity (which will help start an engine even if the battery is fairly drained), as well as the ability to recover from being run flat, which traditional wet cells don't do so well. They have similar reserve capacities to wet cell batteries, so won't perform much better for running stereos with the engine off. The other reason I like the Odyssey batteries is that they're encased in a steel shell, which makes them very safe in an accident - wet cell batteries can slit and chuck acid all over the place, and/or short the cells, which increases the fire risk.

 

Err, lead-acid batteries don't suffer from 'memory effect'

They do however coat the plates with lead if left flat for too long, which is a big no no.

 

I have also had a dry cell battery go kaput ...

but it was an Exide Orbital. It was replaced free of charge under warranty, and currently the replacement is acting as a doorstop till I get another car or get the Cordia on the road again. I ended up satisfying my "orange engine bay" fetish by getting an Odyssey for the Z.

Seems that dry cell batteries can fail just like wet cell batteries ... so long as the manufacturers/resellers honour their warranties then I can accept that it will happen every now and then.

Other people I know that have bought Optimas have bought the red tops - is there a different design, purpose or application for the yellow top that Paul has?

 

If you really need to know head for -

http://www.optimabatteries.com/publish/optima/americas0/en/config/product_info/automotive.html

 

No answer for you either Paul, but have the same problem.......:angry:

Car idles between 800 and 1500 rpm, which is some serious fluctuation. Cleaned IACV, tested TPS DCv.....absolutely giving me the shits.

With a triple plate clutch, if I accelerate to take off when rpm heading towards 1500rpm, it wants to do a burnout. If trying to take off when rpm heading towards 800, then I nearly stall.

Any fix to this idle problem would be much appreciated!!

BTW: have a yellow top too, and so far so good. Call Optima and tell them your problem. I'm sure they'd be interested to know why your battery may be stuffed in under 2.5 years.

CheerZ
Vincent

 

Hey Paul......>>

Is it possible that you have a vacuum leak? that would cause the car to idle high. It is also possible that your TPS is faulty and intermittently staying high. I should have some time this weekend if you want to drop down and try a few things. I even have a couple of spare TPSs if you would like to try another one.

 

I only tried to adjust the idle with the AAC connector off and lowest it wo

uld go was ~1300rpm. When I get my battery back 'getting recharged' I will try to disconnect the FICD connector as well as the AAC and see how low I can get the idle. I thought the FICD was only used when the aircon turns on?

 

Sounds good to me, if I can get the battery running by then I will let you

know what day I can come. What time/day suits you best?

Thanks

 

Reason I suggested disconnecting all three is to see if there is a gremlin

in there affecting the idle.

Cold start should take you to about 1200rpm and then cut when engine warms - could this be jammed on

FICD bumps up idle when aircon on - again could be always on

Have you had a chance to confirm no vacuum leaks. Candu is also running a permanently high idle at about 1100rpm with no vacuum leaks and latest consensus is that EGR might be the cause.

 

When I turn on the air con, I can hear the idle go slightly higher. As for

vacuum leaks, I have checked what I can see.. but havn't checked properly for a few months now. I have always had a slight leak around the rear of the engine, egr would be my guess but I doubt it would cause the idle to stick at 2000rpm. Also when I remove a vacuum hose, the effect is much different to how the idle sticks on 2000rpm and revs high until I give the car a rev. Usually when I unplug a vacuum line the idle just goes a bit lump but probably doesn't move more than +/- 100rpm.

 

Just found the receipt for the battery and I purchased it on the 1/8/03 So

it hasn't even been 2 years :thumbsdown:

 

Yellow tops >>>

>>> are 'deep cycle' and not ideally suited to motor vehicle use.

They are best used in deep cycling conditions such as marine or aircraft where starting is is NOT the primary function.

 

On their website the main function for them is for 'high powered' automotiv

e applications, also a lot on tt.net say that they are good for starting and stopping and that the yellow tops can be recharged many times before fully failing.. confuses me.. either way it should have lasted a lot longer than 2 years. I'll just wait until tomorrow to hear the news from the battery world guys.

 

ive got an optima dry cell... the 1st one supplied wouldnt hold charge >

for more than 12hrs.... took it back and got it replaced - and havent had any problems with it since!

ive got a red-top though




::Risk::

 

I'll have a chat with the social director.....>>

Tonight and see what is planned for the weekend. Is either day better for you? Morning or afternoon?

 

Went back to battery world to find out that the battery has been 'abused an

d misused'. This is what my dad was told when he went to pick up the battery after having it recharged which was a no go.. The problem is, I have never abused or misused this battery. I very RARELY have my music loud, and have only listened to music once while the car was off and that was for about 15min with the stereo on softly and it drained the battery!!!

My dad had a word with them about how a $400 battery should last longer than 2 years. They asked where it was bought from and my dad said from there so I have to take the receipt in tomorrow and they are going to contact optima or something along those lines.

I'll keep you updated as to whether or not I can make it down on the weekend. Will post again tomorrow after I visit the shop again.

 

How does Saturday afternoon sound Paul?