when i run out and start the ole 2nd gen. it cranks just alil slow starts then shakes pretty bad till it warms up for about a min. but the whole time its doing that my amp gauge is bouncing from 17 all the way down to around 10 then back up and over and over again untill it warms up. you can see everylight in the truck dim when it does it.
HELP!!!

 

is your batterys fully charged and the conections tight, mine does it to if it sits for a few days in the cold

 

yea im sure the batteries are connected good. i havent checked the batteries cause i got dual yellom top optimas i just figured id be able to hand them suckers down to by grandkids.

 

that was the worst mistake i ever did was those stupid yellow tops, them thigs are made in china now and i was only able to get 3-4 months on a set before i had to take them back. my girlfreind works at sears in the auto place and gets all the updates on the stuff i stick with interstate green tops to tell ya the truth

 

ive ran red tops in everything ive everowned. no problems ive dropped em busted the case put em back in the car and they keep tickin. my buddy bought this truck about 4 years ago i bought it about 3 mo ago i dont know how long the yellows have been in it

 

it might be the batterys then hook a tester up to them and see what they rean mine show 12.2-13.1 all the time so i think thats what it should be around

 

Optimas have a bad habit of dropping cells. To find this you have to disconnect them and test the two batteries independent of each other.

 

grid heaters do draw a lot of amps.

 

yeah that's probably what it is the Grid heater cycles for i think like up to 3 minutes to warm the air coming in to get the engine running and they pull alot of amps when it heating up, so thats pretty normal...it wont hurt ya to check the battery's though better safe then sorry

 

my optima lasted 3 months before it wouldn't even start a 88 chevy pickup.