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BCM what is this exactly and what does it control?

119K views 23 replies 16 participants last post by  stephanietodd460 
#1 ·
Hello all :)
i recently purchased a used 96 town and country with 94k miles and everything works fine except the wipers and the cc
my indipendent shop told me the wipers are not working due to teh bcm and also told me it would be $750.oo to replace and program :jpshakehe i spoke to WholesaleMopar.com and they cant get me one and said its a dealer only item :(

does this price sound correct ?

im also wondering what other things the BCm controls :help_wsig

thanks.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Generally the BCM controls all the electronics in the van except airbags and engine controls. That said it can keep the van from starting. The BCM is hardly a dealer only item though if you get one it will be a rebuilt BCM and not new. There are several sources on the net and a few that will rebuild your BCM and mail it back. I've read of people getting them for $50 at a junkyard, $250 on the net, and $350 at dealerships. It is important to get the exact part number BCM. There can be several for a particular model year. The wrong one will not allow this or that function to work. It does have to be "programmed" by the dealer unless the source you use programs it (?) for you.
 
#3 ·
BCM - Body Control Module

It controls a lot of "stuff", and as such, it seems to me that technicians frequently point to it as the culprit rather than spend a little extra time to diagnose the problem.

If it was me, I would ask the technician if they would GUARANTEE that a replacement BCM will solve the problem, and that if it doesn't they eat the $750. If they start waffling, it means they're not confident in their diagnosis and want to go on an easter egg hunt on your nickel. Of course, a really sleazy repair shop could frequently diagnose this when they knew the real repair was only a $5 part and $10 labor, and make a killing while still "solving" your problem. That's pretty unlikely I would hope.

Additionally, I've periodically heard of bad solder joints on the BCM causing problems, would recommend a search of the archives (althogh most solder joint problems on these vans are confined to the instrument cluster)

Aside from cautioning you to be suspicious about the recommended repair, I'm not sure what else it may be in this case.
 
#5 ·
since im new here i have no clue where to source the unit here .
if anyone could help it wouldbe great .

to be safe im taking it to another repair shop to see what he tells me something else could be the problem.

well thanks again everyone .
 
#8 ·
We were until the end of last year on of 7 shops that repaired these units for the dealerships. We ran the exchange program for 6 states. We can now service the public and we can do way better than the pricing you listed from the dealer. One thing somebody said is get one from a junk yard. The problem with that is the bcm stores the milage that reads out on the cluster. So you get a junkyard bcm you get the wrong mileage. We have the offical chrysler testers that program the mileage in these bcm so you wont have that problem. Another and probably worst problem with a junkyard bcm is if you get a bcm that has VTSS ( vehicle theft security system ) enabled and you put it into a vehicle that does not have VTSS capability then you will contanimate the PCM also and you will have to replace both the BCM and PCM at the same time. You can contact us at (586) 757-6630 www.hunt-radio.com
 
#9 ·
wipers

When you say they don't work , do they work at all ? This era van had a lot of wiper problems and the most of the wiper problems were fixed by replacing the wiper stalk and or the wiper motor .


Make : CHRYSLER Model : TOWN AND COUNTRY Year : 1996 Manufacturer : DAIMLERCHRYSLER CORPORATION Service Bulletin Num : 083695REVA Date of Bulletin: DEC 01, 1995 NHTSA Item Number: 46495 Component: VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER Summary:
BULLETIN SUPERSEDES TSB 08-36-95, DATED AUG. 25, 1995. WINDSHIELD WIPERS WILL TURN ON WHILE THE SWITCH IS IN THE 'OFF' POSITION WHILE DRIVING, OR WHEN TURN SIGNALS AND/OR HEADLAMP BEAM SELECT IS ACTUATED. WIPERS WILL NOT TURN OFF W/ IGNITION SWITCH 'ON' OR 'OFF' AND TRANSAXLE MAY GO INTO LIMP-IN MODE WHEN WIPERS TURNED 'ON'. WIPERS STOP IMMEDIATELY (INSTEAD OF PARKING FULLY DOWN). WHEN THE SWITCH TURNED 'OFF' OR CONTINUE TO WIPE FOR APPROX. 10 SECS AFTER BEING TURNED 'OFF' AND THEN STOP WHEREVER THEY ARE EITHER BY USING THE WIPER SWITCH OR THE IGNITION SWITCH. BULLETIN INVOLVES INSTALLING A MULTI-FUNCTION SWITCH W/ A BUILD DATE CODE AFTER 2565 AND/OR GROUND WIRE CORRECTION AND/OR A PDC AND/OR A WIPER MOTOR.
 
#10 ·
BCM problems

Hi All: I just joined this forum as my Plymouth Voyager (1998) is in the chrysler dealer shop right now for this problem. My lights in the dash have been flickering for some time. The wipers have intermittent problems, the back wiper comes on if I go over a bump- sometimes.

The dealership here in Ann Arbor has had my car since yesterday and this morning called to say they are "90%" sure that it is the BCM and that it would be around $1000 to repair. But they didn't want to repair if they think it is 90%. He said to continue driving the car until more things fail.

Well, is that right? What if this kicks out for me in the middle of a trip somewhere by myself? Or will things start going out more and more often?
Do I tell them to fix it or wait as they said?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Nancy
Ann Arbor MI
 
#11 ·
$1000 is STEEP for a BCM repair...We get them done here for about $300 to $350 including a trip to the dealer to reprogram...I used to think that a junk yrad BCM wouldnt work but recently have learned (via the forum) that as long as you make sure the parts #'s match you can purchas one used...Try this link

http://www.car-parts.com

I have bought lots of "so called" dealer items from them a lot cheaper and they come with warranty....

Hope this helps
 
#12 ·
I'll reply to this because I have just gone through 3 months of **** with my 98 T&C. The wipers stopped working, the blower motor stopped working, I had no interior lights or power when the key was off. I spent weeks diagnosing, took it to a dealer who told me they would probably end up having to charge me over $800 just to track down the problem, but they suspected a BCM.

I found a place online and ordered a BCM from them. They sent me the wrong one at first, but they were quick to send out the correct one which I got 3 days later. I installed the new BCM and this didn't fix any of the issues that I had. I spent most of yesterday reading schematics and diagrams of the system and decided to attack the wiring cluster that is under/behind the drivers side fender. I found the issue with the van. The wires which only rest under there, were starting to ground out to the body. Only some of them had this issue due to rubbing and being wet. I spent 5 hours snipping, splicing, soldering and heatshrink wrapping the affected wires and VOILA everything is working again. Upon finishing this, I wrapped the harness in electrical tape and then put a plastic flex tube cover over it to protect it from the water that started this in the first place.

I have both BCM's that were sent to me, so if anyone needs one of them, I would be happy to verify the part numbers with you and for $150 I will ship it to you. They are guaranteed to be working from the place I bought them, although chances are they will need to be reprogrammed by the dealer, usually only costs whatever their hourly rate is. The dealerships by me charge $110 an hour.
 
#13 ·
I spent most of yesterday reading schematics and diagrams of the system and decided to attack the wiring cluster that is under/behind the drivers side fender. I found the issue with the van. The wires which only rest under there, were starting to ground out to the body. Only some of them had this issue due to rubbing and being wet.


Wow! Sounds like this info could go a long way. Can you be a little more specific as to where this clusterf*** is located, & is it readily visible?

Thanks much in advance.

Ron.
 
#14 ·
I been into that clusterf*@(# of wires myself while lookin for that bad plug to the front computer...Not that easy to see...You can access it better by removing the 'tar paper' lookin stuff in front of the driver's side wheel well...If its the one that I am thinkin of.
 
#15 ·
Hi all, I to am new here and by reading this forum I believe I have a similar issue. My van is a 1999 town and country limited with 211 000 kms, 3.8 Ltre. To date I have intermittent problems in all the following areas:
Head lights remain on when switch is turned off.
rear wiper comes on and off by itself.
dash lights flicker.
switch for rear window wont work on occasion.
rear passenger door wont unlock with lock switch or remote.
battery light came on for 2 min then went out.(hasn't been on since and battery is good)
radio volume control on steering wheel will sometimes change radio station instead of turning volume down.
At first I thought it might be a bad electrical connection, more and more I'm thinking BCM (didn't even know what this was until I came here.)
As I say all problems are intermittent and increasing, first it was the dash lights and volume control switch then door switch, window switch, rear wiper, battery light, and head lights. What next!!
Does this sound like BCM to anyone or could it be something else? Appreciate the help as I'm not to mechanically inclined.
Thanks
 
#16 ·
I would take the van to Autozone (if you have one near you, otherwise a lot of auto parts stores are willing to do this kind of thing) and have them do a test on the battery and/or alternator. It could be one of those two components, and both are cheaper to fix than a BCM.
 
#18 ·
The Gremlins are back in the headlights, one week reprieve and now it is game on. I suspect that the BCM is flawed and correct me if I am wrong, but I need to pull the BCM and get a new one that has the same part number,code, what ever as the one I am replacing. After install do I need to have anything scanned or is it plug and ply?
 
#19 · (Edited)
James skipper is super cool dude.

You will have to go to the dealer to get your key fobs programmed. Makes me wonder how the folks install aftermarket alarm systems to the car and Key-less entry and remote start without making the BCM angry?




http://www.jamesmskipper.us/AutoRepair/BCMReplacement.html

Go to the above to see his BCM pics. They are good!

Sample:
 
#23 · (Edited)
Shop I used , for my 1997 t&c LXi 192.000 a lot of parts /things I’ve replaced. I would need a new BCM. WIPER s will come on I unplug fuse to turn them off. I’m encouraged by these posts . The last on this blog I read does do repair . I will call them . It has to be same number “caution” at junk yard . Don’t eat every fish you catch . O Ya for do it your self RIGHT TO REPAIR A IS BIG MOVMENT IN AMERICA . Ifixit. They are growing Big Time , many court dates over this Right To Repair 3 new books out this year .Different research Writers. 1/2 hr video on YouTube . The researcher writer telling there story about activism. They are DIY folk . GOD Bless America
 
#24 ·
Best way i think to fix b c m isues is to have a good schematic. Visual inspection. My van had a power surge. After that horn relay got stuck on now. Parking light relay stuck energised. Going to consider a major rewire.
Toggle switches to most of the relays in the fuse boxes. That way i can turn on each item independent of the bcm. Re: park light hi beam wiper wiper low rear wiper. Bcm seams to be of a design that if somebody farts in the car next to you it will blow a circuit
 
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