Ford Focus Estate - battery reset - clock reset date curiosity

[amtsquire]

Fellow Ford owners

 

I have a question for you which I think I know the answer to - but anyway - here goes...

 

I've a Focus Estate 2006 which required a new alternator and new battery last week....

On picking up the car after these works - as expected we had to enter the unique stereo code (due to the battery being disconnected).  However the clock on the radio came back to life with a date which didn't seem very logical to me.  We reset the clock to the correct time but my question is   -  What date would you expect the clock radio to come back with - when the battery has been removed/reconnected ?   1st Jan 1970  or maybe some other date from the cars build past maybe ?

Your educated/informed opinion would be most appreciated :-)

Very best

AMT 

[GMX]

We have identical cars it would seem, or at least my Mk2 is both an estate and Focus.

I changed my battery last year, but can't quite remember what the default date was on the clock, 1st January 1990 rings a bell, but that could've been the Mk1.  I am going to upgrade my alternator at some point this month, to the 150Ah one. I'll have a look, when I have reset everything afterwards

The default time and date is from the IC chip that runs the clock circuit on control board, rather than being related to the car itself.

[amtsquire]

thanks for your comments GMX

 

I was told the clock would reset to the date when the car was first built or when it came off the assembly line ... but that didn't make much sense to me  - working with computers daily etc.  How would the cars first power on date be maintained ??  More likely to be some kind of firmware /BIOS type ROM reset date I'd have thought.

 

If anybody else has a theory or fact on this one - I'd love to hear it.

 

Very best 

[iantt]

normally on the newer cars after battery disconnected the approximate year of build does actually come up, mine is 2013 focus and after disconecting shows up april 2013. ,the default date must be in the radio unit somehow

[Old Hand]

Got just this problem.  Fitted a new battery and really can`t figure the clock.  I suppose by trial and error I`ll get there.