My 94 Caravan's dash lights stopped working. My mechanic said it's the body control module and a rebuilt one from the dealer is $380. He's put out a search to local junkyards to see if we can find a used one, and in the meantime, I'm searching on line.
They replaced the switch that they say shorted out the BCM, and they tried jumping that circuit on the BCM, with no success. He said this BCM controls other stuff too, and if I don't get it repaired or replaced, those things will start to go too. (I'm not a mechanic, nor do I play on on tv, so I'm not sure if I understood that correctly.)
I've done the prerequisite searches on Google, and I have a bunch of used-parts dealers saying they have the part for me. Weird thing is that prices range from $35 to $225. The $225 quote is from someone who has BCMs with the exact part number. Some of the other places say that matching the exact part number isn't necessary because all Dodge BCMs are essentially the same thing. My mechanic shook his head a little at that and said he thinks it *is* necessary to get the exact same part. I tend to believe him, because he's always done right for me in the 12 years I've been taking vehicles to him.
So I guess I'm asking two questions - is it, as we believe, necessary to match the exact part number? And is $225 a reasonable price? $225 is certainly better than the $380 the dealer wants, but I'm paying my quarterly taxes next week so I'm not feeling very wealthy.
I make the wry observation that if this was one of the 10-year-old cars I drove in the 80's, dash lights not working would be merely a bulb or a switch or a fuse!
Thanks in advance all, fatbak