I was recently given a '97 Grand Am SE 3.1. After a few days of driving it, I noticed that after starting the car, the clock displayed non-alphanumeric segments but within a few moments, it would display the correct time. A few days later, the clock had to be reset; and a day later, the car battery was dead. Had it jumped and it ran fine all day and started the next day, after 14 hours of idleness, with no problem.
It's possible that I left a light on somehow - not shutting the glove box fully or something (the manual headlight control was in the off position), but since we don't have much history on this car and the date wasn't marked on the battery, we replaced the battery.
The clock is still doing that weird thing, though, but hasn't needed to be reset since replacing the battery. It doesn't do it every single time, but the colder the engine is, the more likely it is to happen. There is no "low battery" or any other warning light coming on. Everything else (lights, accessories, etc) works perfectly all the time. Besides replacing the battery, the car has had new rear brakes and the right rear passenger window motor replaced, new belts and an oil change.
Is it possible that this odd clock thing a warning of something wrong in the electrical system, or is it more likely that it's just a weird clock problem? I'd rather take it in as soon as possible if it might be a real problem ... but prefer even more not to need to!