Clock Radio Resetting

[PA Firefighter]

Lately I've been having a problem with the clock on the stock radio resetting for no reason. When I turn the ignition over, it will reset to 12:00 pm. It doesn't happen all the time. I may go a week or two with it set correctly, but then one day I'll go for a drive and it will be reset again. It's more of an annoyance to be constantly fiddling with it. Could my radio just be going bad? This is the only electronic device in the cabin that is acting strangely, so I don't think its the battery.

[toyomoho]

The radio has two power connections. One for the radio that turns on/off with the ign key, the other for the radio memory and clock/clock memory that is constantly on.

Power is turning off to the constant on circuit for some reason. Loose wire, an issue with the other device acting strangely?

[Frank@toronto]

When I turn the ignition over, it will reset to 12:00 pm

Your battery may need to be replaced soon, since the voltage accross it is dipping pretty low (during starts only) which causes your clock to reset.

[PA Firefighter]

Thanks to both. I may need a new battery since I don't think it has been replaced at all since the car was first purchased in '02. I bought it when it was 3 years old as the second owner and haven't touched it. I am going to be replacing the stock radio anyway, but question for Frank: If i was getting low voltage during turnover, why wouldn't it be constant and reset all the time?

[Frank@toronto]

Depends on how well your car starts, outside temperature (low Temp is harder on a battery) and how your battery is performing (hard to predict how the battery cells are dying).