Replacing vented battery with a non-vented Optima Red top?

[IceWeasel]

I have a 00' SLE, and my vented battery has apparently been leaking since before I bought the car last month... because I have a hole in my floor panel! I thought it was from the previous battery, but after a week I opened up the seat again to find the floor panel damp again from battery acid...

This cannot be good for my car! I don't want to have an entire floor panel go out to this battery and I already have an Optima Red Top lieing around, so I wanted to swap it in. Is it safe to use a non-vented battery in these cars? (According to the owner's manual, it's not, but I thought I'd seek advice here)

Thanks guys! If you have any ideas what to do with my current battery (leaking from only one side where the vent meets the drain tube) to fix it, that would be appreciated too. I'm not sure if these things can get plugged up or not with sulfuric acid running through them!

[John Deere Boy]

Yeah the red top is safe. willwren has one. Throw baking soda everywhere that acid might have gotten to neutralize that s***, then wash everthing up well.

[Whitecrystal1]

I thought the census was not to use them in the 2000 and up Bonnevilles because of them not having a vent being the battery is under the rear seat

[TenGHz]

Aren't red tops sealed though? Won't that be fine?

[Wes]

there is still a vent on the optimas.

and does optima make a battery that fits in the 00+ group size? or one that can be vented outside?

[IceWeasel]

the red top is not vented.. it is completely sealed afaik! so far i have several different answers and no consensus! doh

at least i know to go throw baking soda around inside of my car! :D

[Wes]

all optimas ARE vented. the little circular stone lookin things are vents.

[00Beast]

So how is it safe to have a vented battery in a Passenger Compartment?? Are the factory batteries vented or not? I'm rle confused.

[GoldenBullet]

yes, factory batteries are vented, and so are the optimas. (they have to be or else they would go boom) whether or not the factory vent tube connects to the optima is another question.

[00Beast]

So there is a tube that vents the deadly gases out of the car? Hope willwren posts soon and reveals all

[Archon]

Any lead acid battery will release gas, and need to be vented, during charging. The OEM battery has vents on the top middle of the battery, and the car's venting system attaches to that. The gas is vented through the floor pan, and out the bottom of the car. Using any other type of battery can be dangerous, as the gas is both explosive, and corrosive.

[00Beast]

AND not to mention Deadly if inhaled.

[John Deere Boy]

Yeah the red top is safe.

Oops...sorry. I thought they were truly sealed.

OPTIMA batteries even has safety in mind - with its completely sealed case it helps to ensure the safety of you, your family and the environment

[Rebel25A]

I don't know anything about Optimas...I bought a battery from a local battery place for substantially less then I found anywhere else...and my vent tubes hooked up fine to it...but I have another question...how many volts is the charging system putting out...most of the time to have a battery juicing out the vents its because it is getting to many volts...do you have a info center in your car showing charging volts...if it is above 15.5 I would be worried

[IceWeasel]

i haven't checked recently, but i know that my info center shows that it's charging over 14 volts. it's a gauge, so i'm not sure what value it's on. i'll have to check later today.

maybe Rebel25A is getting close to the problem!

[00Beast]

The SE and SLE's have volt gauges, but the SSEi's have a boost gauge there, so it is in the DIC, right after Tire pressure.

[Pontiacdad]

2000SilverBullet has a red top in his 2k ssei, I think he glued on vent caps and re-routed the vent tubes?

[IceWeasel]

my 00 is an SLE, so it has the gauge, its not digital.

i hope that someone who actually has one of these in their car can voice their input. i'm getting the feeling that i need to design some custom vent caps if i want to use another battery... there is no way to use a non-vented battery in the interior of a car it seems.

* edit *

although, perhaps the battery is fine, but the car is pushing too many volts through it. i won't be able to check until i get off work. there has to be some reason why one side of the vent tubes is leaking, but the other isn't.

[LakevilleSSEi]

Archon has a 2K+ and he said no.

Last I remembered hearing that that Redtops were sealed and used a dry cell technology. I personally don't know how it could be sealed and have vent tubes, so i don't know why they can't go in the 2K+'s.

[IceWeasel]

here is a picture of my battery voltage. sometimes it gets a hair higher than that.




here is an excerpt from Optima's site:

Battery Maintenance

The OPTIMA battery is truly maintenance free. When charged properly you will not have to worry about leaking, corrosion, or gassing. Periodically inspect your battery terminal connections to ensure they are clean, snug, and protected from the elements.

If these aren't a problem, shouldn't I be able to put it under the seat?