Set interval with in a movie clip affectin buttons on main time line

hi,
i’m kema and i have a problem with the setInterval and clear Interval function with in a movieclip i created. the interval seems to still be running even though it is with in a movieclip and not on the main time line. how do i stop it from affecting the buttons on the main time line. i tried applying the clearInterval function to the button on the main time line but still no change. i would be very grateful if anybody can profer a solution to this problem,thank you very much.