My clock in my 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP keeps losing time why?

TheCreidhne

I got a new a battery three of the cells went bad in less then 6 months warranty replaced it and the second battery three of cells went bad in less then 3 months and the clock was keep losing time during the time the batteries where working. What would cause that?

PF_Flyer

The clock is probably not related to the battery. (MAYBE a low voltage causing the clock to run funky?) The replacement battery having cells go bad seems like really bad luck as there's nothing that the car might be doing that should kill individual cells in the battery. if there was a short/drain that would simply drain the battery.

I'm assuming your replacement battery was a sealed battery, so fluid level shouldn't be an issue. Undercharging can cause sulfation and battery failure, so maybe check your alternator and associated wiring to make sure your battery is being charged properly.

imidazol97

I assume you mean the clock in the radio on your GTP? IIRC the clock in my leSabre 1998 also lost a minute or so a month or week. And it got worse with age. I wonder if it's instability of the circuits or parts used in the electronics there. The clock time is kept by a quartz crystal vibrating. I wonder if that piece is drifting away from the calibrated frequency causing the clock to record time as slower.

I suspect it's like the HP desktop computers several years ago that after a few years had capacitors that weren't made right which went bad and weren't calibrated and the computers would sort of work and then not.