Battery died last night

It's the first battery you've put in it and it's a 98?  I would say that's doing pretty good.  Mine lasted only 4 years with everything stock, I don't think 5 years would justify a alternator upgrade.

Hell, I have a 98 civic and I've been through 3 batteries already.Certified Security Specialist

Always check info with a digital multimeter.

I promise to be good.

Tell Darwin I sent you.

I've been sick lately, sorry I won't be on much.

Wow, I just had the same problem. I finally got all my stereo stuff in, and while testing it... my battery died... in 30 seconds. So I charged it up over night and all was fine for about a day. I went to start it the next day and it was dead again. I had killed the battery, literally. It would not take a charge anymore. Basically, my civic is a 95, and the battery was original. 8 years is damn good for a battery, so I found out. I put a knew champion battery in it and its been fine ever since. I can run my stereo non stop with no problem. So you should be ok with the new battery.

Anytime you add an excessive amount of amperage draw to your factory charging system it is recommended that you upgrade to allow for such draw. Most Honda stock alternators are around 70 amps. If you are running a 1000W RMS amp that equates to about 83 amps of current being drawn. You can see the rest of the math. This is what makes your lights dim, etc. You minimize this by adding extra batteries and capacitors because these devices have a storage capacity which allows the amplifier to work and not dim your lights. However you still have the problem of the amplifier not getting the expected amp draw, which leads to the amp not being able to produce the power its rated at. As stated above, for a 1000W RMS amplifier to operate correctly, it needs approximately 83 amps of current, otherwise its not going to products 1000W RMS, but something less. Anytime you add that extra load of a considerably large system to your vehicle, reguardless of the make and model, it is best to upgrade your alternator. The car manufacturers dont build the car to accomidate for that extra amp draw, because not everyone adds it. On average the stock alternator will produce anywhere between 10-20 extra amps of current, which would be equivalent to about 120-240W RMS producted from your amplifier. You now have the information, it is your decision as to what to do with it. ;)