| Red Optima Battery Installation |
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After driving the Jeep around for about a year, we started on a new project. That
project was the
Third Project Jeep. This project
needed a battery since the one it came with had seen better days. Since I wanted to get a new battery for the Jeep
that could survive the punishment I intended to dish out. So, it was decided to swap the batteries and get a new one
for the Orange project Jeep. Don't get me wrong, the Duralast battery was great and it did everything I had asked of
it, I just wanted to get a battery that was a few more CCA (Cold Cranking Amps) for starting the AMC 304 on those
cold days.
I got the battery from
eBay and the price tag with shipping came in right at $127.00. I
had searched all the sites on the Internet and this was the cheapest place I could find it. I ordered it up and in a
few days, the nice people at CSE Offroad shipped it to me. It arrived packaged very well in a big box with blow up
bubble wraps surrounding the battery.
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In order to expedite the finish of the Yellow Jeep project, I took the battery out of
the Orange Jeep and transferred it into the Yellow Jeep. Upon receiving the Red Optima Battery, I was able to verify
the CCA as 800 A as it was marked on the top of the battery (see picture). It also lists the model number as 8004-003
with the part number being 34/78.
It comes with a 3-year free replacement warranty and with that, I bolted the battery in. It is a very simple procedure
with hooking up the red to positive and the black to negative. A 1/2" wrench completed the installation for the
battery terminals as well as the hold down on the battery tray.
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| Once it was installed, I fired the Orange Jeep up and it caught on the first try.
The Jeep is ready to roll now with its new battery. All in all, the upgrade will provide more power for the big
motor on those cold and wet days.
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| Lessons Learned the Hard Way |
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| My lessons learned here would have to be that you should order this up when you are
ready to swap it out because now I have to reprogram all the radio stations on the stereo in the Jeep. I would have
probably had to do this anyway unless I was able to swap it with zero downtime on the battery.
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| Conclusions |
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| Overall I would say that this project is pretty easy to do in a few minutes. It is
slightly costly at just under $130.00 but I think that it will be worth it and let's just say what it is, the Jeep now
sports a Red Optima Battery and that battery name is associated with toughness and that is what I as after.
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