RavenXXX

I have been working the radio issue with Bill on and off. His knowledge is unsurpassed. Did all his recommendations. When I get in the car and I found out that if I push the recall button before I start the car, the time displays for a few seconds and it is correct. Then, I start the car and the clock resets to 1 o'clock. It's an intermittent problem. Sometimes it will keep the time, sometimes not. No pattern to it that I can tell.

stu12dozen

Sorry, I cannot help, it's just that the title of the thread immediately made me remember the movie "Ground Hog Day" with Bill Murray. Hope you are able to get the problem solved.

Torch Rot Z

Mine did this before when connecting hp tuners or an obd2 scanner into my obd2 port. Good luck figuring it out.

65GGvert

Anytime you disconnect the battery or the radio plug the clock resets to 1:00, so when you start the car the battery voltage must be dropping below the point that holds the time. There is a single wire that runs to the radio that is always hot to hold the memory and time. If the battery is good, you must be losing power to that wire. My guess is that the battery is on it's way out and dropping too low during crank. When that happens, usually the HUD will reset to oil pressure also, but since you have a 97 there's a good chance you don't have HUD to compare.
Just to test it, I'd charge the battery fully and try restarting. If the time holds with a fully charged battery, I think you either have a weak battery or weak charge system.

RavenXXX

Thanks for the responses and ideas. I live in the Northeast, and my C5 is stored under car port and cover (which does a surprisingly good job of keeping it protected, albeit at times a challenge to work on). As soon as we get back to some manageable temperatures, I'll report back. I had replaced the battery over the summer and tested the alternator and numerous other things, however, the comment about the DIC seems intriguing in that I'm always playing around with the darn thing (part of the entertainment system for me). Because the problem is intermittent, it kinda makes sense. We'll see.

Also, I took note of the comment about the hot wire which holds the memory and time. My memory presets hold, it's just the clock that is affected.

Best to all.

Bill Vett

8vette7 is having you check the DIC to see if you're going back to default. If you have the DIC set on avg. mpg and it has the cars mileage when you try and start the car the battery is low. As voltage drops the car begins to remove items it doesn't need from memory to save power. Do you have a battery tender or maintainer on your car when stored? Even with a newer battery the car will loose it's charge in 2 to 3 weeks, and possibly begin to go to default. It's best to keep the battery charged while not driving it in the winter. A battery tender is cheap compared to replacing a battery that is not maintained properly.

thisMSGgood4me

That's weird, I thought it resets to 12:00. At least that's what the clock in my GMC truck reset to when I had to replace the battery in it recently. Maybe the radio in the Vette is different. I'll try to remember to check that next time I have to replace the battery in it.

Vetteman Jack

Interesting info. Hopefully all it turns out to be is a low battery.

65GGvert

I promise, it resets to 1:00

4XLR8N

The C5 ignition switch has a reputation for causing some truly weird and almost unexplainable electrical gremlins. It would be pretty high on my list of probable causes.

dadaroo

The OEM design is for power to the radio be ALWAYS HOT so it is not powered via the ignition switch.

65GGvert

The radio requires two 12V sources, one always hot and one switched by ignition.

dadaroo

I agree and also verified the design in the FSM, That way one of the radio design features allows the radio to play without a key in the ignition.

One of those features is if you are playing the radio and shut the car off, remove the key, it will play until you open the door and then the BCM will turn it off.

corvettezman

You are correct. There is no switched power at the radio in the C5

65GGvert

Then why won't the radio play until you turn the key to either acc or on?

thisMSGgood4me

Oh, I'm not doubting you're right, it's just strange to me that the clock would reset to 1:00 instead of 12:00. Besides my truck, all my house clocks, those that reset, do so to 12:00 when they lose power and then get it back. To me, it just seems natural to reset back to 12:00, not 1:00, if they reset.

corvettezman

The EBCM module shuts it off when you open the door. I have not spent enough time reading the manual to correctly answer your question, but I know this, if you ever upgrade your system to an aftermarket double din or something similar, you will have to pull an ignition power from the fuse panel in the passenger floorboard or the ignition switch. There isn't one anywhere near the radio.

65GGvert

It has to have a switched power or else you could turn on the radio without the key when you get in. It may switch through some other module, but something has to feed the power to allow the radio to come on AFTER the key is in acc or on.

Lee DeRaud

It has only unswitched power. It switches itself on/off internally upon command from the BCM over the serial data link.
If it makes you feel better to say that means it has "switched power", go ahead.

dadaroo

What I described is only an exit feature. This is from the Owners Manual.


Retained Accessory Power (RAP)
With RAP, your power windows and the audio system
will continue to work for up to 15 minutes after the
ignition key is turned to OFF and neither door is opened.
If a door is opened, the power windows and audio
system will shut off.