I am about to have the fourth BCM installed in my '97 Caravan with
111555Km (67000 mi) on it. First time was right out of the showroom to correct problems with door locks and interior lights, second at 5 yrs and third 2 years ago to get dash lights working again, and now needed again for dash lights. Anyone have suggestions / know of warranty relief / etc.?SNIP>
Nope, except for an aftermarket remote doorlock, it's stock. My mechanic has chased all the leads, found no shorts, all the grounds are tight, last time he even replaced the headlight switch in case that was causing the problem (they aren't cheap, either). I know it's a lot of BCMs, and before I replace it again, I'd like to know why the high failure rate. So far, all I am missing are the dash lights, maybe some warning lights.
SNIP again>
The electric door locks are factory installed, the remote trigger is the aftermarket item (Ziebart). The first BCM failed before the remote was added. When we took delivery of the van (new), it behaved as if it were possessed, Amityville Horror style: we'd be driving peacefully down the road when all of a sudden the interior lights would begin flashing on and off, the electric door locks would cycle up and down, then just as suddenly they would stop - no pattern to the events that we could see. This went on for a couple of weeks, and the van spent more time in the shop than out. Dealer eventually replaced the BCM, having tried everything else. With some final adjustment of door switches, all was quiet for 5 years. Then 2 yrs ago, BCM failed again. And now it's once again gone, but in these last two instances, only the dash lights have been affected - they don't work.
Are you saying that the dealership service department may have ripped him off on an unneccessary repair? They don't do that, do they? They are very honest people.
I doubt it DanC at 400 Km,s when the van was two weeks old! Duh, that would be warranty!
It's still a way for the dealer to make money. They get paid by the factory for warranty work, whether it's actually needed or not.
The previous comment was meant mostly for "maxpower", who I'm sure will understand what I was getting at...
Yes low life, I understand that you shot off your mouth again not reading the post and realized that now you better cover up your mistake by saying the dealer is ripping off the factory.
Hey since you are so close to the edge.....why not do us a favor and take another step!!!!, maybe it is a long way down
Jeeeez. Why all the hostility? No need to be insulting.
Do you act this way towards others, or just me? What's wrong with you?
Just you
How come you didn't answer the rest of the questions I asked?
Gentlemen, this isn't answering my questions, either. There was a point, just before the BCM was replaced at 400 km, that the dealer offered to take the car back and give me a new one if the replacement BCM wasn't the answer. For 5 years, it appeared as though the new BCM was the answer and that the car had been delivered with a faulty BCM. What I am trying to find out now is whether this short life is a characteristic of the BCM for that year, or there is another fault (and I am open to suggestion on this) in the van's wiring. As I said in an earlier post, all the wires to the BCM ring true, no shorts, and grounds are OK. What else is there that we may have missed? What could generate a fry-the-module spike to the dash light circuit?
As I said in my first post, there are no problems with BCM's, There are no TSB's out on any kind of problem with the BCM. without seeing the vehicle would be hard to say what is causing it, and without knowing what happened to the old BCM would be hard to say what caused them to go out. Do you have a water leak running down on the BCM causing them to go bad? could be anything. Glenn Beasley Chrysler tech
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