How critical is it to replace the factory battery with a like battery? I have replaced the alternator and threw a battery from a Jeep Cherokee in my XJ6. Could this be the reason my battery won't charge the way it should? I disconnected the Earth from the LDM, but the results are the same.
Also, when I hit a good bump my dash lights and radio go out briefly. Could this all be connected somehow?
Thanks in advance for any shared k-nowledge.

 

Any 12v should work. Check the ground between the battery and the body and then between the body and the engine. Or, better yet, add an additional ground from the body ground directly to the engine. If your battery has top posts make sure they are not touching the hood when closed.

 

it is not critical at all, other than matching the battery capacity or better yet, exceeding it. The more cranking power the better.

the symptom you describe could be an ignition switch starting to fail, but it could be a number of other things.

there are two Electrical Poles at the firewall, one on each side of the engine, Brown wires are connected to them. They have black rubber "boots" over them. Make sure the nuts are tight by pulling the rubber boots back.

Make sure the battery cables are tight on the battery poles. Make sure the black battery Ground cable connected to the Body is tight at the body bolt.

Note: when tightening any nuts or bolts you must disconnect one of the battery cables from the battery. Some connections are always "HOT", perticularly the poles at the firewall. A metal wrench can cause a short.

 

I reckon this is an XJ40, XJ6.

The thumping the dash to wake stuff up gave it away.

Maybe a re-ask in the XJ40 Section, 2 Sections down from here, will get related answers.

 

OPITMA Yellow top , best battery i have ever bought,, 10yrs and counting , went to battery test station, said as good as NEW, slightly better under load!
ron

 

Hi Ron,
Any link where to buy that battery you talking online?

I would love to have one

 

Don't know where you are located. If USA or thereabouts, Google for a local source.

Or try E Bay or Amazon.

Or a facility that deals with boats, or big RV's.

Carl.

 

Am located out of the USA far in GHANA

 

Hi Carl,

please confirm if the attach is the real battery photo

 

Seems it. At one time, my XJ6 had one. got it used for 50 bucks. got my money's worth.
Caveat, an "ordinary" charger will not charge them. it takes a "smart" charger". I sold my old not so smart unit and bought a smart one.

There is a way to trick a not so smart charger into charging a gelcell l, like the OPTIMA,

It was preceded by a red top Optima. also OK. Now, jst a good lead acid, and all is well on each of my cars.

Carl

 

YES that is an OPTIMA Yellow,, i never had a dead one ,so never had to charge!
but if you buy new , instructions come with them!
also internet is loaded with info about them, they come in blue top, red top, and yellow top!
someone said they are making some Lithium batteries now! light weight, super strong!(expensive)!
ron

 

I agree ....had one in my Range Rover for 6 years where electrics are critical never missed a beat. Sold car before replacing.

 

Yesterday I was heading to the biggest used parts market in Accra to check on my master cylinder issues and in the market I saw a 15 plates OPTIMA red top battery and from the good recommendations in this post I have looking for such used battery in Ghana but no luck till yesterday. I asked the seller the price and he quoted in our currency which is about US$42, I negotiated and had it for $38, I made some greater portion down payment and promised to pick it on Monday with the balance.

Many people in my country are not aware the quality of that battery and for that reason I met it there and that cheap price. If the seller knows, how have sold it over $200.

thanks to all who recommended and mentioned it here as a quality battery

 

they make 3 types of Basic Optima batteries!
good -better -best,, blue-red-yellow.

 

meaning the redtop is in the better category, then which isn't bat at all

 

Hello, I noticed your conversation involving our products and wanted to offer some clarification. Optima is one of the few global brands in the world, available in more than 150 countries. Ordinary battery chargers work just fine on Optima batteries in most situations. However, when any battery (Optima or any other brand) is deeply-discharged below a minimum voltage level (usually around 10.5 volts), some chargers will not deliver current to those batteries. In those instances, someone may need to use the parallel charging technique described in this video to charge the deeply-discharged battery-

Although our batteries are sometimes referred to as “gel” or “gelcell” batteries, they are not and “gel” or confusing “gel/AGM” charger settings may not fully-charge non-gel batteries and could damage them over time. In those cases, regular or deep-cycle charger settings will work just fine. While our parent corporation, Clarios, does manufacture lithium products for automotive applications, Optima does not at this time.

We do offer our batteries in RedTops, YellowTops and BlueTops, but it's not a good/better/best type of offering. We explain the differences between the batteries in this video-

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries

 

Jim thanks for clarification.
i have currently install your redtop battery on my Volvo XC90 to recharge it because the XJ6 run it dead when I was testing it's sunroof and windows operation.
am waiting another happy day when I get the yellowtop from the used parts market here in Ghana.