lupin..the..3rd
Veteran Member
Here's a brief description and photos of my optima red top battery install in B4 Passat. I didn't want to pay large shipping costs on the 34R model, so I picked up a standard 34 from the local parts store (it's all they had). It is a straight forward install, but there are a few things you should be aware of.
I decided to replace my old battery. It was a Merchants Tire brand battery of unknown age (came with the car). The two terminals on top, particularly the negative side, were COVERED in oxidation / corrosion. There was so much white powdery buildup that I could not find the bolts to loosen the terminal clamp! Yuk!
I scraped away most of it with a stiff wire brush. I could then see the bolts to loosen / remove the terminals. After removing the old battery, I did some cleaning. I sprayed both terminal connectors with Wurth electrical connection oxidation cleaner and scrubbed them with a wire brush. That got them pretty clean. Next I used the shop vac to suck up the mound of white powder and also leaves and other debris that had accumulated in the battery tray area. I then applied a very generous dusting of Arm & Hammer baking soda all over the battery tray area. I didn't have any litmus paper handy, but the bottom of the old battery was "gooey" and I'd bet money that the battery tray had a ph of way under 6.
Now to put the new optima in place. At the store, there were little baggies of plastic parts that were on and around the optima batteries. MAKE SURE YOU GET ONE! These bags contain plastic "brackets" which allow you to properly mount the optima. There is a metal "lip" along the back side of the battery tray. The back bottom edge of the battery sits under this lip and is held in place. The problem is that the optima's bottom edge is much thinner than most "regular" batteries and will be a loose wobbly fit. You need to use the plastic "brackets" in the bag to make the optima's bottom edge thick enough to fit snugly. You also need one on the front side of the battery (there are two in the bag) for the same reason. There is a metal clip that attaches with a 13mm bolt and holds the front of the battery in place. Without this plastic bracket in front too, it will also be a loose fit. You do NOT want your battery sliding or flying around under the hood while driving.
Here's a photo of the plastic bracket snapped in place on the front side of the battery, and bolted in with the factory mount:
In that photo, the optima's black plastic bracket fits "around" the middle cylinder in the battery. The metal bolt/bracket is holding onto the left half of the plastic bracket.
Now we move to the top. In order to reach the terminals on the optima, we have to route the two terminal connections a bit differently. The negative side bolts on such that the wires exit to the back of the battery. The positive side attaches horizontally such that the wires exit out to the side. For a better fit, I had to unbolt the three smaller red wires from the positive connector and run them UNDER the large ground wire.
Here's a photo of how everything is attached, The negative terminal looks in the photo like it's touching the hole where the hood support is attached. It is not touching (but it's a little close). Also, see how clean the terminals are? You wouldn't believe how bad they looked before. Don't forget to clean on the INSIDE of the terminal rings - that's the part that contacts the posts on the battery so it should be very clean for a good electrical connection.
The only thing I don't like about it, is how close the hood support pole is when it's down. Here's a shot from above to show you what I mean. After I took the photo, I cleaned the hood support pole and wrapped the lower half of it in electrical tape, just to be safe. This sounds like a good excuse to install hydraulic hood lifters (like in the A4 and B5) and then remove this pole altogether.... This next shot also clearly shows the three small red wires re-routed UNDER the large black ground wire.
Lastly, here's a shot of the entire engine bay, with optima installed. How many other mods can you spot? /images/graemlins/grin.gif
I've had great luck with these optimas in the past on other cars and I highly recommend them. They are sealed so they don't require any maintenance and are non-spillable so they won't leak corrosive juice and rust your car. They come with a six year warranty. And best of all, it has 800 CCA! Way more than the 650 CCA in your standard replacement battery. Cold weather is no match for the optima.
Good luck!
I decided to replace my old battery. It was a Merchants Tire brand battery of unknown age (came with the car). The two terminals on top, particularly the negative side, were COVERED in oxidation / corrosion. There was so much white powdery buildup that I could not find the bolts to loosen the terminal clamp! Yuk!
I scraped away most of it with a stiff wire brush. I could then see the bolts to loosen / remove the terminals. After removing the old battery, I did some cleaning. I sprayed both terminal connectors with Wurth electrical connection oxidation cleaner and scrubbed them with a wire brush. That got them pretty clean. Next I used the shop vac to suck up the mound of white powder and also leaves and other debris that had accumulated in the battery tray area. I then applied a very generous dusting of Arm & Hammer baking soda all over the battery tray area. I didn't have any litmus paper handy, but the bottom of the old battery was "gooey" and I'd bet money that the battery tray had a ph of way under 6.
Now to put the new optima in place. At the store, there were little baggies of plastic parts that were on and around the optima batteries. MAKE SURE YOU GET ONE! These bags contain plastic "brackets" which allow you to properly mount the optima. There is a metal "lip" along the back side of the battery tray. The back bottom edge of the battery sits under this lip and is held in place. The problem is that the optima's bottom edge is much thinner than most "regular" batteries and will be a loose wobbly fit. You need to use the plastic "brackets" in the bag to make the optima's bottom edge thick enough to fit snugly. You also need one on the front side of the battery (there are two in the bag) for the same reason. There is a metal clip that attaches with a 13mm bolt and holds the front of the battery in place. Without this plastic bracket in front too, it will also be a loose fit. You do NOT want your battery sliding or flying around under the hood while driving.
Here's a photo of the plastic bracket snapped in place on the front side of the battery, and bolted in with the factory mount:
In that photo, the optima's black plastic bracket fits "around" the middle cylinder in the battery. The metal bolt/bracket is holding onto the left half of the plastic bracket.
Now we move to the top. In order to reach the terminals on the optima, we have to route the two terminal connections a bit differently. The negative side bolts on such that the wires exit to the back of the battery. The positive side attaches horizontally such that the wires exit out to the side. For a better fit, I had to unbolt the three smaller red wires from the positive connector and run them UNDER the large ground wire.
Here's a photo of how everything is attached, The negative terminal looks in the photo like it's touching the hole where the hood support is attached. It is not touching (but it's a little close). Also, see how clean the terminals are? You wouldn't believe how bad they looked before. Don't forget to clean on the INSIDE of the terminal rings - that's the part that contacts the posts on the battery so it should be very clean for a good electrical connection.
The only thing I don't like about it, is how close the hood support pole is when it's down. Here's a shot from above to show you what I mean. After I took the photo, I cleaned the hood support pole and wrapped the lower half of it in electrical tape, just to be safe. This sounds like a good excuse to install hydraulic hood lifters (like in the A4 and B5) and then remove this pole altogether.... This next shot also clearly shows the three small red wires re-routed UNDER the large black ground wire.
Lastly, here's a shot of the entire engine bay, with optima installed. How many other mods can you spot? /images/graemlins/grin.gif
I've had great luck with these optimas in the past on other cars and I highly recommend them. They are sealed so they don't require any maintenance and are non-spillable so they won't leak corrosive juice and rust your car. They come with a six year warranty. And best of all, it has 800 CCA! Way more than the 650 CCA in your standard replacement battery. Cold weather is no match for the optima.
Good luck!
