To a point that is correct but not entirely. Let's be right here if the TC will only allow you to enter 1997 as the maximum how can you have the correct time, date and year in (say) 2010 without 'equivalents' ?
That is exactly what this article is about. In fact you can set the TC to be correct for the year 2099, I know because I have done it and checked it against my PC simply by altering the year on my PC it confirmed the day and date were correct.
If you have got a TC in your car and at some stage in your ownership you disconnected the battery you will have lost all your data, you can after reading this at least set the time and date back onto it. This will involve a small and simple program that will have no effect whatsoever on any other data already in your TC, that will remain intact. So you have nothing to lose and plenty to gain. About 90% of the information found here, though not 'word perfect' comes from section 33B of the genuine Ford workshop manual for the 1982 Granada series 2. The other 10% were not in the manual so I read what wasn't there and it soon became obvious what the original built in software was capable of. Well after a lot of messing about I found it could be done.
The TC however has a sensitive system built into it, that is whatever section of the TC you are setting it never has any effect on any other data within. That is a good idea and means if you do make a mess of it all other data is untouched. The TC never displays the year when it is in normal run mode, that being the case why is a year needed at all ?
The reason is it needs to know if it is dealing with a leap year of 366 days or a normal year of 365. If (say) you input the year 1996, the TC would know that 1996 is a leap year and it would allow a date of 29th February after the 28th. If you had input 1997 it would know that it is a normal 365 day year and it would display a date of 1st March after 28th February instead. This is all done automatically by the TC you take no part in that bit at all except by inputting the year.The TC already knows that Monday follows Sunday, that march is the month before April and it knows exactly how many days are in every month, except February and that is when it needs to know if it is a leap year or not. As the Meercat says 'Simples', simple that is when you know how !
When you program the TC for the time and date you have to program this in order exactly. I will take you through the reprogramming later. Firstly the TC requires the hour, then minutes, day (Mon, Tues), month, day of the month (i.e. 12th 25th) then the important year.
Here is a diagram of the TC, I will guide you through the program using the diagram and some text, of course.
As you can see I have given the six buttons on the left of the display a number, this was done for clarity later on. Buttons 'A' and 'B' need to be pressed using either a biro or paper clip, as you probably already know. When programming the time and date into the TC all other information it contains is not lost, that info remains intact. When you start programming button 'R' will index the display, so if the display shows (say) 10 pressing button 'R' once the display will show 11. When pressed the button 'S' will 'set' whatever is displayed into the program and automatically takes you to the next step. If you are used to computers button 'S' is the enter key.
Time/day/date/any year set :-
1. Ignition on press button 'A' once - The hour will be displayed, note AM or PM.
2. Press button 'R' to index the hour - This will change to PM automatically.
3. When the hour is correct press 'S' - The display will now show minutes.
4. Use button 'R' to index - The display will advance one minute per press.
5. When correct press 'S' to set - The display will now show the day (Mon, Tue).
6. Use button 'R' to index 'S' to set - The month will now be displayed.
7. Use button 'R' to index 'S' to set - The month will now be displayed plus the day of the month.
Pressing 'R' now will only change the day of the month i.e. 15th not the month again. When correct press 'S' to set.
The year will now be displayed. Use buttons 'R' and 'S' as before. If the year is a leap year set the TC for 1996. If it is NOT a leap year then set the year as 1997.
Having now programmed the TC press button 1, this will start the program and take you out of program mode.
Don't forget to switch the ignition off ! There you go, job done and no faffing about trying to identify equivalent years.
If you program the TC after or on 1st March (say after a battery disconnection) it does not matter what year you enter. You will have already told the TC what day, month etc. it requires. If the TC is programmed on or after 1st March the year setting makes no difference whatsoever because you are past February and you have already programmed the info in by the time you get to the part of the programme that needs the year entering !
'British Summer Time' brings us to the dreaded 1 hour change and we all run about altering our clocks (usually forgetting to do the video recorder, Eds).
The TC will allow that change with ease. All that is needed is for you to start the program as before (press button A) until the hour is displayed.
Press 'R' to change the hour, press 'S' to set it.
Now press button 1 to take you out of program mode and the job is done.
If the minutes need changing because your clock (TC) is a little slow or fast just start the program (press button A). When the hour is displayed press 'S' because the hour shown will be correct, now that the minutes are shown press 'R' to change them, 'S' to set then press button 1 again, job done.
When you have ALL the information relating to the Trip Computer its surprising how easy it is to work with the already burnt in program it contains.
Mike Bate
