# My car's clock lost several hours

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-clock-lost-several-hours/722490>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 14, 2015, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-clock-lost-several-hours/722490 "2015-06-14T06:34:58Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 8\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-clock-lost-several-hours/722490/1 "2015-06-14T06:34:58Z")

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For the first time in seven years, my Corolla’s clock was suddenly off by  
several hours. Is this a sign of an impending electrical system problem? 😕

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**Author:** ![ticker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@ticker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ticker)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-clock-lost-several-hours/722490/2 "2015-06-14T07:34:33Z")

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Did you notice anything strange happen when you hit 88mph? 🙂

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**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-clock-lost-several-hours/722490/3 "2015-06-14T07:39:11Z")

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I’m not a car expert, but I’ll take a shot (even though ticker’s answer is funnier.) First thing, check your battery - if you don’t have the tools, any auto parts store will do it for you, generally for free. That’s the most likely cause, in my experience.

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**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-clock-lost-several-hours/722490/4 "2015-06-14T07:45:53Z")

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Is there an inexplicable gap in your memory and strange circular burns on your body?

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**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-clock-lost-several-hours/722490/5 "2015-06-14T07:47:03Z")

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Thanks, Ticker. I didn’t notice. 🙂

Lacunae, I just got a new battery a few months ago. 😕

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**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-clock-lost-several-hours/722490/6 "2015-06-14T07:49:06Z")

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Penfeather, somehow I don’t think they’d be interested in me. 🙂

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**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-clock-lost-several-hours/722490/7 "2015-06-14T07:51:09Z")

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> [@Newtosite](#):
>
> Thanks, Ticker. I didn’t notice. 🙂
> 
> Lacunae, I just got a new battery a few months ago. 😕

Check the battery cables and connections, maybe? Perhaps one is loose or corroded?

If it’s something major and electrical in nature, I’d expect you’d see other signs - the radio “forgetting” its presets, or electric locks not working correctly, for example. If you see no other signs, maybe you just have a bum clock!

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**Author:** ![Newtosite](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/newtosite/32/8623_2.png) [@Newtosite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Newtosite)\
**Post date:** [June 14, 2015, 8:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cars-clock-lost-several-hours/722490/8 "2015-06-14T08:25:21Z")

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Good suggestion. But I hope you’re right that it’s just the clock!