• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
  • When posting a classified ad, you MUST select a prefix from the drop-down next to the subject line. If you don't you will get an error and your ad will not be posted!
Tips
Tips

TR2/3/3A TR-3B Battery

Share this page

V

Vaark01

Jedi Trainee
Country flag
Offline
Hi,

I need a new battery for my TR-3B and have heard the Optima is the way to go. I called Optima and they said I should buy a yellow top battery. I then called Moss and they said a red top battery is made for British cars.

I would appreciate any advice you can provide.

Thanks.

Paul
 
I'm not convinced that something as expensive as an Optima is the way to go. All batteries are much better than they used to be: not only more durable, but less likely to leak/spew acid, etc. Frankly, for years now, I've bought the cheapest battery that fits, figuring that (worst case scenario) it wouldn't have cost me all that much if it didn't last 4-5 years or more. That's been working well for me of late. I've only bought two batteries for my '62 Herald since getting the car in 2002, and the only real reason I got the second one is because the first one ended up getting used in another car!
 
I agree with Andy, I've been buying whatever was cheap at Wally Mart and they work out just fine.

That said, the distinction between the red top & yellow top Optima is that the Yellow top is better optimized for "deep cycle" operation, meaning it should be able to better tolerate being deeply discharged (or left partially discharged) than the red top; at the expense of not being quite as adept at starting the car when fully charged. Thus, comparing a "Group 34" from each category, one finds :

CCA (roughly how much current the battery can put out at 0F):
800 Red 750 yellow

RC (roughly how long the battery can power the car after a generator/alternator failure):
100 Red 120 Yellow

Based on my experiences with generators on my TR3As, I'd go for the yellow top (if I were going to use an Optima). But in practice, either one will work fine.
 
I put the red top in my TR3. I'm pretty much sold on AGM (absorbed glass mat) batteries after my experience with one in my Miata. The car is a '92 and originally was supplied with a Panasonic AGM battery. I just replaced that <span style="font-weight: bold">original battery </span>last month. AGMs are capable of sitting long periods of time with with minimal loss of charge compared to a wet cell battery. I've let the Miata sit for a month or two (outside), and it would always start without a problem. On the TRs, since there is no drain from radio memories and such, I suspect that it probably won't be necessary to even charge it at all during the winter layover, but I'll keep an eye on it. Besides, these things don't leak any nasty stuff. The battery clamps on the Miata were as clean as the day they were first installed 17 years ago.

Edit: I'm also running an alternator, so I don't have any generator issues.
 
I bought a gel battery from autozone and it was pricier thana wet battery but cheaper than an Optima. Same issue tho, it won't leak.
Remember that gel batts don't like quick charges and need a trickle charge.
 
FWIW, I bought a battery at Costco for my 3A 5+ years ago, and have very pleased with it. At the time, it was only $30 and change; I later found out that they're made by Johnson Controls. I've only bought Costco batteries for all my cars since then...

I also use a battery disconnect switch religiously. Never had a battery starting problem with this car, and positive ground, proudly!
 
FWIW you can get that Moss phony old batt cover that goes over te Optima and rework it to cover about anything....I used it to hide my modern gel batt.
 
What battery cover is that?
 
The "LUCAS" battery I bought from Antique Battery Co. in Hudson Ohio 7 years ago still works fine. I got 5 years out of each of the two earlier batteries I bought from them.

Whatever you buy, make sure that the + battery post is located on top of the battery where it should be for the shortest cable depending on whether you have + ground or negative ground.
 

Attachments

  • 19450.jpg
    19450.jpg
    64.4 KB · Views: 115
Thanks for the info.
When I tried to search their site for a battery cover, I got nowhere. Would never have guessed that they call it a "tar topper".
 
Back
Top