I have a 1992 buick century custom with a 3.3l v6 and it has a delco stock alternator, and it already has the Big 3 installed and my lights dim really badly now that I hooked up the xcon today, my last sub was 1000rms now im doing 1600rms on the amp, and my cars electrical hates it. I can here the bass distort whenever the voltage needle dips. So I was looking for a cheap upgrade since this is only gonna be my car for less than a year. I found a rebuild kit to upgrade a delco cs130 alternator to 180 amps, which the cs130 is what replaces this alternator if i go to autozone, but i'm not sure if thats whats in it now. I know its a delco but I don't know where to look for a model number, but they do look the same in every way....

umm batteries?

how many batteries do you have and what is there rating?

well there is only one battery, and i'm sure its nothing special since its what the car is supposed to have stock. I'd guess between 500-800ca. I have a 55ah deep cycle but I don't think that will do much. here is a link to the re-manufacture kit on ebay, I looked it up and the cs130 is the original alternator so this kit will work on the car but would it be worth it? how well do you guys think it will work? maybe if I buy this kit and the biggest battery that I can fit under the hood?

High Output Alternator Kit GM Chevy Delco CS130 180 Amp : eBay Motors (item 330423267111 end time Apr-19-10 07:38:39 PDT)

um i woud say get another battery in the trunk close to the amp and put a voltage meter on it to keep track of the voltage to the amp!

ok, what kind of battery should I get, I am on a low budget, any money I come up with for this is gonna be all that I have, I will have a 150 for me to spend to myself in may, and if i can sell anything by then I will have more also. So is the alternator a bad idea or should I try the battery first and then if it still dims get the upgrade to the alternator?

you say your alt is already 180amps lol it is pretty beefy already.

i say get a battery and go from there! you are running 1600~rms so i sya get a kinetik hc2000 or something similar like a deka and you should be good to rock and roll.

try to aviod used as we don't know how much abuse ppl hammer on those batteries lol but if yo uhave to go used get someone nice and reliable who doesn't rape there batteries and also know what he is doing!

no my alternator is not 180 amps, it is the stock 105 amp, but I wanted to upgrade it 180 amps, that kit on ebay will upgrade my 105 amp alternator to 180. I thought it wasn't bad for $99 if it really works, which it probably does.

my upgrade kit worked for my car BUT i didn't need it as my electrical was alreay strong enough with 2-batcap 2000's (50ah each) and big 3!! with a stock 105-120amps!!

at any rate if you have the battery bank to bakc up your system you will have no real issue the alt is used to recharge your battery (s) not support the constant draw of the car audio setup right

well from what I get out of this, and the way I beat my system I might need the battery and the alternator, I will try the battery first, but I push my systems hard. My old kove subwoofer which was getting 1100rms and it was a 1050rms woofer, I would crank it all the time almost every day, and there where multiple occasions where it would be at max for 1-3 hours. so I'm not sure if the battery will hold a charge for that long. my caddy could take it, but it had a 140 amp alternator and a 1100ca battery in the front a a 55ah deep cycle in the back.

umm i say go with the battery but really give it a second or 2 and lets see what other ppl think!

but sign my vote for a battery over an alt but for prolonged listening..i would go with a battery!

well I will put the 55ah deep cycle that I already have in there, its 5 years old but better than nothing until I can afford a new one.

5years is pushing it lol!

Ya I know I bought it at a garage sale for ten bucks, it was cheap, it used to be on a early 2000's scooter. It still holds a charge and I jump started a car with it a year ago.