Problems with yellow top

[Jaimecbr900]

I've had the exact same problem with mine forever. I always chalked it up to a drain, but I guess I should swap it out and see.

BTW, yellow tops don't have any more CCA's than any other conventional battery. It is merely a sealed deep cycle battery. I know from experience that Optima requires you send them back the battery for THEM to test it before they will warranty them out. If a retailer warranties them out for you, consider yourself lucky.

BTW Jason, noone checks their batteries like that. I'd be willing to bet not even the manufacturer. You can't check "specific gravity" on a sealed gel cell battery anyway. I think that procedure may be for conventional deep cycles like older boat batteries. Even the manufacturer uses an electronic machine and calls it a day. Remember, if they finally call it "bad" all they'll do is recycle damn near the whole thing anyway, so it's no big loss to them really. Specialized batteries may be different, but I know that most conventional car batteries are made in very few places. They just stamp the sides in the color of your choice and your logo, but the internals are identical. Johnson Controls was the biggest a long time ago, and I know they supplied big names like Sears and other retailers the exact same batteries just marked differently.

My uncle has worked for a company that builds commercial batteries in Pennsylvania for over 20 yrs. He told me that almost the entire battery is now made of recycled materials. EPA also keeps those companies under a very tight watch, so it's better for them to recycle vs. throw away.