why is my clock resetting itself?

[bodhi_tree777]

weird thing has happened twice in the last week or so. I'll drive somewhere and everything is fine. Shut the car off and when I re-start the clock on the radio resets. No other starting issues, no CELs, no other funky electrical issues, just a reset clock. I checked the battery cables and they are nice and snug. Any ideas? It's not a huge deal, just want to make sure nothing's wrong. 03 Vibe GT, by the way. 64k miles.

[DarkSpork]

Mine does it to on days when I go to start after it sitting all night and its -15 or colder. I'm not sure how relevant it is and I know that's not the problem you are running into now, but it had to do with the battery being weak (from below freezing temperatures).

[GoodVibErations2004]

which radio is it? i had the stock radio 1cd with rds with the same problem. When i took the radio out to replace with an aftermarket headunit, i noticed that 1 of the wires was loose in the harness. try removing the radio and checking all of the wires on theharness end of the radio harness

[bodhi_tree777]

it's stock, single cd. Sounds like that could be the problem. Thinking about swapping decks sometime in the future anyway so I can probably live with it until then Thanks for the info!

[ou.grizzly]

OEM Radio have a battery in it to remember the time like a PC does on the motherboard?

[bodhi_tree777]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »OEM Radio have a battery in it to remember the time like a PC does on the motherboard? i thought about that too, but if that were the case then I'd think the time would reset every time I shut the engine off. It doesn't, only every so often which makes me think loose connection.

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly »OEM Radio have a battery in it to remember the time like a PC does on the motherboard? I don't think it does. It may have some sort of non-volatile memory for the presets though,best I can remember those remained intact after a battery disconnect but the time reset.

[ou.grizzly]

Well it was a thought, I am far from a technician or computer literate.

[prathman]

How old and in what shape is your car battery? I'd expect a loose connection to cause problems sometimes while driving and hitting bumps and not just when you restart the car. OTOH, if the battery is a little weak the voltage could drop enough so the radio clock turns off and resets when you crank the starter motor and draw lots of current.

[bodhi_tree777]

Quote, originally posted by prathman »How old and in what shape is your car battery? I'd expect a loose connection to cause problems sometimes while driving and hitting bumps and not just when you restart the car. OTOH, if the battery is a little weak the voltage could drop enough so the radio clock turns off and resets when you crank the starter motor and draw lots of current.good point, and truth is I don't know. Had the car since December.

[Sublimewind]

Sounds like you may have a blown fuse... Most all radios in cars have 2 power lines coming in... Constant and switched.. the constant is there to keep the presets and clock in check, along with providing the lions share of current when running... the switched line comes from the ignition, so when you get in and start the car.. it signals the stereo to turn on the bulk of the electronics.. Again, sounds like the constant isn't keeping power on it.. look for a blown radio fusde..

[joatmon]

The radio gets two power feeds, switched ignition power via the CIG fuse, and permanent from the dome fuse. If your dome lights are working, then the clock reset would not be a fuse problem.Possible that the battery is weak, or the terminals are corroded, and when starting the car, the voltage drops below the threshhold to maintain clock setting in the radio. In the monring, when you first get in the car, just turn the key to ACC and see if the clock is reset. Then start the car and see if the clock resets.