body control module "98"

Do not have any headlights-taillights-interior roof light or dash lights.
The flashers-radio-turnsignals and everthing else works.
The mechanic decided it was the body contrl modual. Anyone else have this problem? Seems like there is none in any junk yard and they are on backorder at dodge. Any thing else to check out. Seems to be only the circut that goes to the light switch on the dash.

Thanks

Hook up a scantool and run through the tests and check for codes The Body Control Module is capable of self diagnosing itself. This should point to exactly where the trouble is.

Just had the exact problem on a 92 caravan. Unplug it, wait 30 seconds and plug it back in. Worked fine after that.

I think you should trust you mechanic
he is right

Farmer, its the BCM. You cant use one from a junk yard or from anyother Caravan.
BCM has to be programed for your vehicle and its options. When I replaced mine it took two weeks to get it, and its about $300 not including installation.

Farmer, don't pay through the nose for a BCM. And don't let anyone tell you "there is none in any junk yard". That's absolutely ludicrous. Go to www.car-part.com. Based on whether you have power locks and/or security, you should find dozens of them in junkyards, starting at around $60 plus shipping.

I got a replacement for the BCM in my 2001 Caravan for $75 shipped...it was a matching catch code and even had a newer firmware revision! And it took me all of about 20 minutes to switch it out with simple tools.

Good luck! Carl

Carl, you may have been lucky with the BCM you got. I have two brother-in-laws that work for Dodge dealers and a friend that works at another. All three said the same thing, Dont use a BCM from a Junk yard, its a crapshoot getting one that will match your van and isn't going to fail.
(i didnt say "there is none in any junk yard")
At the time I was replacing mine none of the salvage yards in Austin had a BCM and none of them could find me one with their locater services. I am not particularly crazy about buying anything online and having it shipped, to many times have I seen wrong parts, defective parts, late deliveries. That just my personal preference.
Who knows, maybe when I was looking for my BCM all the 96 Caravans had already been parted out and nothing is left

AirScrew, you may be right, perhaps I was lucky. But my experience with online junkyards has been very good.

I'm not the least bit surprised that a dealership mechanic would respond as your friend and your brothers-in-law have. After all, if everyone bought parts from other sources and installed them themselves, they would be unemployed in very short order.

Unfortunately, they were either ill-informed or not completely honest with you. If you are familiar with Chrysler's BCMs, (and a dealership mechanic certainly should be) matching them is fairly straightforward, and if it does not work, it has a warranty, just like the dealership part would.

There are three types of BCM available for the 98 Caravan. They are distinguished by the van's factory configuration, as follows;

1. With no power locks or security

2. With power locks, without security

3. With both power locks and security

Once you have determined which of the three you need, you only need to match the catch code, 4801060, for example. The catch code is followed by a two digit suffix, such as "AF", which represents the firmware version on that particular computer.

You do not need to match the firmware revision, in fact, you may wish to pick up a unit with a newer firmware verison. In my example, if you were to find a junkyard computer marked 4801060AJ, it would be the same model of computer, but with a newer firmware revision, hence the "AJ" suffix as opposed to "AF".

I too have had many experiences with wrong parts, defective parts, and late deliveries, mostly with local auto parts stores and car dealerships. In fact, in my experience, new car dealerships are the worst when it comes to such problems.

I did get the wrong part from a Car-Part.com junkyard once. They promptly shipped out the correct part and sent a prepaid call tag to return the incorrect part.

I think you have to remember that these 'Net-connected junkyards would not do well with online sales unless they handled them responsibly. I have found that I can consistently get the part I want, with a 30 day warranty, delivered to my door for less than if I trudged through the mud in any of Connecticut's junkyards to get it.

I don't want to take issue with the whole "new" vs. "used" part issue. But if Farmer11 would rather drive for a couple of months with no lights while he waits for the dealership part to come in, then pay $300 or more plus labor for it, my guess is, he wouldn't be here looking for alternatives.

YMMV! Carl

conncarl, You've given me the courage to try and change this out myself. Te review my symptoms, we suddenly lost gauge power and the Service Engine Soon light came on. I have a friend who has a diagnostic computer, which spit out the P1695 code, "No CCD/J185O Message From
BCM." I unplugged the BCM (the block box that looks like a stereo amp next to the fuse relay under the hood by the driver's side fender) and plugged it back in, some of the gauges worked for a few minutes and the engine light went away, only to come back later.

My questions for you guys is, is changing out the BCM the right thing to do? And for you, conncarl, where do you find the catch code number you refer to? I'm hoping I can see it without taking it out.

THANKS!

ghinson, I don't know for sure if replacing the BCM will resolve the error you've described. Often, an error code which seems to point to a faulty BCM can be triggered by a bad sensor or other component. Correct diagnosis of onboard computer devices can be very difficult without sophisticated test equipment and a full explanation of error codes.

Complicating this particular case is the fact that I don't even know the year of your Caravan.

However, I'm going to assume that you've misidentified the part that you disconnected, temporarily clearing the error. If it was under the hood on the left fender, it is almost certainly the Electronic Control Unit or ECU, not the BCM (Body Control Module).

This is consistent with the actions and result that you have described. Disconnecting the ECU had the effect of clearing any stored error messages. Upon reconnection, the fault, ostensibly a failure of the BCM to respond correctly to the ECU, returned and was stored again.

If you would like to try swapping out your BCM in an attempt to resolve the problem, you should be able to see the catch code without too much trouble. Look under the left side of the dash for an aluminum box roughly the size of your hand with fingers outstretched. There should be a number of plastic connectors each bearing a group of wires connected to it. You should be able to find the catch code with firmware revision in black on a white paper sticker.

Remember to disconnect the battery before attempting to disconnect or reconnect any onboard computer devices.

Good luck! Carl

Carl,

Thanks! Someone as naive as myself when it comes to this stuff needs to be careful reading the internet forums and thinking he can fix something! :screwy: I think I read something somewhere about the BCM being on the left by the fuse box. On my '99 Grand Caravan, under the hood, there is a fuse relay center with the part I unplugged just lateral to it, over the left fender (which I guess is the ECU).

I will have to look again for the BCM under the dash! Anything I could do further to better diagnosis this as the BCM being the whole problem. (I normally would just go to a dealer, but I live in a fairly remote area and the closest dealership is 2.5 hrs and a ferry ride away, so you try and become as much of a DIY'er as possible.)

Greg

Our van was sittingfor 6 months, we replaced the battery and Since then, the "Rear Wiper", "Intermittent Rear Wiper", "Re-circulation", and the "A/C" buttons on the environmental control panel all blink in unison for approximately 16 -18 minutes immediately after starting the engine.

Is there anyway to reset the BCM?

Sorry it is a 1998 Dodge Carvan

hey everyone with the "ghost in my wipers", and "they will run when i push the squirter button but wont run on delay or hi/lo", and will not work on intermittent, dashlights doing funny stuff, etc......
I have been thru everything in the entire wiper system.
tore the motor out regreased and cleaned all connectors and electrical pickups, replaced and tested all relays under the hood, checked and replaced all fuses, replaced the 80.00 dollar multi-switch.
NONE of these things fixed the issue and are not the problem.

The fix is the BCM - Body Control Module. this little beast of a circuit board does just about everything !!!!! it controls your security system if you have one, it controls the rear wiper, the front wipers and all the related delays, the security system, elect locks, etc.... and electronic signaling associated with this stuff. I have gone thru the entire electrical schematics on this thing. the module is about 385.00 bucks. Ouch! thats alot just to fix your wipers, or headlights.
But what i did was call a reputable auto salvage yard and had them do a computer search for my make and model '96 grand caravan for a BCM. they found one without issue and it was 100.00 bucks including shipping. some of the BCM's need to be programmed (flashed) by the dealership this is about 65.00 bucks. but i know for a fact that the '96-'99 are plug and play no flash required. i pulled my old one slammed the new one home and "click" the wipers work perfect!!!!!!!!!!!!

the BCM is located under the dash on the drivers side right behind the fuse plate. it is fairly easy to get out. there are just a few 9 or 10mm bolts that hold it in place and then it slides up on a couple pegs and the bolts just hold it in place. look at the one you picked up and you will see where the bolts are. dont forget the very top one toward the driver door, you will need an extension about 8 inches to get it. also if you remove the code testing plug-in that sits under the lip of the dash it will save you a few scars (believe me) the screws protrude right where you will be snaking your hand up and through. I echo what carl was saying it is a simple fix and the only criteria for ordering are if you have security and power locks or a combo of them. your just wasting money if you take this issue to a dealer. hope this helps you save some money doing it. thanks

GMAC454@hotmail.com

I have the same exact wiper problem that GMAC454 had. I called one junk yard for the part (BCM). I was told that this module also records the mileage of the vehicle. My caravan has a very low mileage considering its age. I am hesitant to replace the BCM with one that is going to report 140,000 miles. Does any one know if this is true that you will see a different mileage than your original once you have the BCM replaced? What can be done to avoid this problem?

I have the same exact wiper problem that GMAC454 had. I called one junk yard for the part (BCM). I was told that this module also records the mileage of the vehicle. My caravan has a very low mileage considering its age. I am hesitant to replace the BCM with one that is going to report 140,000 miles. Does any one know if this is true that you will see a different mileage than your original once you have the BCM replaced? What can be done to avoid this problem?

Finally received the BCM that I ordered from a used parts dealer. After replacing the part, the wiper problem goes away. Put the old one back, the problem persists.

Another thing is that my worry comes true. The BCM does record the vehicle's mileage. My vehicle now shows 140,000+ miles, compared to the 80,000+ miles with my original BCM. Still haven't figured out what to do. Any advice is appreciated.

lt8828, I'm sorry I missed you post and it took me so long to respond.

If you have a digital odometer, the mileage is stored in the BCM and swapping it will cause your speedometer to display the mileage from the donor vehicle.

This is generally well known in the used parts industry, and when searching Internet sites such as "www.car-part.com", you will normally find the mileage listed next to each BCM offered for sale, in order to make it easy to find one that is close to the mileage on your vehicle.

At this point, you have four options;

1. Save the original BCM and document the mileage difference between the two. No one will really care until it is time to sell the van, and if you keep your receipt and document the change carefully, that should satisfy the buyer. If its got 80k on it already, it isn't going to be a low-mileage creampuff anyway when you sell it, so it should be less of an issue than it would be if the van had 25 or 30K on it.

2. Pay a dealer about $75 to "reflash" the BCM, which may allow them to reset the mileage to the number that was on the old BCM. You'll have to call a Chrysler dealer and ask about this.

3. Buy another boneyard BCM with a more palatable mileage number and install it.

4. Bring or ship your BCM to an electronic speedometer repair shop. For roughly $50 to $150, they can often re-program the mileage for you.

Good luck! Carl

Could this BCM also be the problem with my dash gauges going out once in a while?

Yes.

I was installing a new stereo in my 94 Grand Caravan, didn't disconnect the battery, put the new harness on before I connected them to the new stereo, crossed some wires... now my interior lights wont work, power locks don't work, and radio wont work.

Body Module?

Or I have been thinking,, could it possibly be a fusible link some where for constant power because power locks, interior lights and radio all have constant power associated with them.

I tried the reset, unplugged the battery over night just to be safe, and the problems still persisted.

But if it is the Body Module, were would I locate this device on my 94 Grand Caravan? The Haynes DIY book I bought says absolutely nothing about this so called Body Module anywhere.

Thanks

Sounds more like a fuse to me.

In any case, your BCM should be under the dash, on the left hand side.

Good luck! Carl

My 98 Grand Caravan is at the dealership by my place right now to check out the BCM. If it is the BCM, I have already tracked down a Wrecker who claims to have two vehicles that the BCM can come out of to go into my Van.

Thing is, the Wrecker said the BCM is located in the engine compartment on the left side, pretty much in plain view making it pretty easy to change out. But conncarl has said the BCM is located under the dash on the left side, which sounds like an extreme amount of work comparatively.

Which one is it?

the bcm is located on the driver side under the fuse box. The ECM is located in the engine compartment right side. Looks like an amplifier..

BCM=Body Control Module (under dash)

ECM=Engine Control Module (engine compartment)

My '01 GC Sport is awaiting a new BCM (no dash lights or back-up lights). They are not stored at the dealers since they have to be ordered from the parts depot, and the parts depot flashes them with the existing mileage from the vehicle it's going into. Since I couldn't leave my van in the shop over the weekend, I'll have a mileage descrepancy of maybe 200 miles, which I will document. I don't think that the mileage can be input by the dealer or anyone other than the parts depot (at least thats based on what the dealers shop told me).

A modern, well-equipped speedometer repair shop should be able to correct the mileage. With a 200-mile discrepancy, however, I for one certainly wouldn't bother.

Just my 2¢. Carl

Hi, I have a 2001 Dodge Caravan-

I was told the bcm is programed to your specific car?

my power light on the cooling control panel (below the radio) wont go on, no fan, no heat or ac- my mechanic found it was getting no power from the bcm- he jumped it from the bcm i think, so atleast i have defroster and heat until i get a new bcm. One of our headlights stopped as well a while ago and I belive the mechanic jumped it as well.

Does this sound consistint with a bcm? I only have 75k on the car- I want a bcm that matches that.

do you think i should go to a dealer with this?

Mike

The BCM controls so many functions it is hard to specifiy what seams consistant with a BCM , but it does control almost all electronic functions of the vehicle, heat, lights, wipers, alarm (security) system, heater controls. so it would be the first place i would go to. the idea that all those companents are going out is pretty far fetched so the BCM is the one common denominator in all of it. Get one from a reputable salavge yard, they are about 100 to 125 bucks and the install is simple. The BCM is located under the driver side of the dash!! it is not that hard to remove and if you buy ine you will see by the bolt holes and the cable plg-ins how it goes in. the toughest part is the bolt along the upper left side. you will need a 1/4 inch drive ratchet and long extension to get at it. other than that it slides right out. The BCM does hold and your mileage information!!! you are stuck with the mileage on the bcm you buy!! unless you can find a speedometer shop in the area that will reprogram it. So it is best to find one at a good salvage yard becasue they usually list the mileage that is on it.
thanks

I replaced the BCM on my 95 and it did change the mileage.

Hi guys,

Very interesting reading. I picked up a 1996 Caravan at an auction through my employer. It was one of those "as is" deals.
Anyway, my wipers don't work, and I'm pretty sure it's the BCM.

If I unplug the battery for about an hour, will that reset the BCM? Or will that screw up other things?

I've started looking for another one on the web, but I was wondering if that would do anything?

Thanks,

Photog

it is my understanding that unhooking the battery will not do anything for the bcm, it is a flash type of non volatile memory, so it does not clear out after the power is removed from it. if it did the mileage and other setting would zero out on you. some of the sensors will clear, like the MAF and MAP for the engine, but not for the bcm. at least in all of the testing i have done.
sounds definately like the BCM on yours, if you need any info just let us know. thanks
GMAC454

I have a 96 Grand Caravan. The radio buttons function very intermittantly. Power works ok, but the others are very flakey most of the time, requiring several presses to do anything. Also, the blower switch recently refused to work on any setting but "high". Could these be BMC related also? From the previous posts in this thread, it seems so. The ECM was replaced in this vehicle about 4 months ago after it refused to start one day and the coil pack tested good (had fuel pressure, could hear the pump start up, but no spark, ECM change fixed it).

thanks,

GeoDad

I have not heard of your specific symptoms before. usually the wipers and or electric locks/security system is thefirst to have issues. but the radio could certainly indicate this. I have not chased the schematics on the blower system, if the blower system goes thru a relay (in the fuse box up front driver side under the hood) and that is good along with the fuse, then i would lean 90% at the BCM. give a call to a dealer and just ask for a mechanic and ask him if the blower controls are managed by the BCM if they say "yes" then i would even jack it to 99% that it is the BCM knowing that you checked all the other pieces (I.E. fuses, relays).
Remember to ask about the odometer reading on the BCM you get if you go used, cuz you are stuck with it. most reputable salvage shops know enuff to mark the mileage on the BCM when they yank it out. also you need to indicate if you have a security system (original) on the vehicle or not to get the right one. I hope that helps sorry i can't give you a 100% answer on that but like i said that is the first time i have seen only those 2 things as an issue. let me know how it works out... and good luck.

GMAC454

the fan only working on high is caused by a bad resistor. Found under the hood on the firewall passenger side. Hard to get to!

the fan only working on high is caused by a bad resistor. Found under the hood on the firewall passenger side. Hard to get to!Get a flashlight and remove your glove box door. You can see this resistor block by peering through the hole where your glove box door used to be, high up on the firewall. The Resistor Block looks like a heater element (four coils) and is about 1" x 3" - if you see ANY rust or corrosion, you should replace it. Get some band-aids... I gave blood (literally) and you might too... because getting the old one OUT of and the new on IN to the firewall (from inside the engine compartment) can be a challenge.

hey thanks guys looks like you have been thru that one before!. I will take note of that and thanks for jumoing in with great help.

Gmac454

Has anyone tried changing the resistors, to change the blower speeds? For really humid evenings, I like to have a "Dead Slow" blower setting.

Actually, considering how the BCM always resets the the Fresh/Recirculate mode to Fresh on startup, maybe I should address that issue first. I also object to the way the BCM forces you to use fresh when in defrost mode.

It is true that the defroster works slightly better in the Winter if fresh air is mixed in, I object to losing the ability to shut out the ragweed while defrosting in the summer. Given that every minivan has AC, there is no reason to force the van to run fresh air while defrosting in when the tempreture outside is above freezing.

I have a 2001 Chry Voyager lowline.

My wipers seem to be possessed! I consider myself lucky when I can turn them off. Is this the BCM? If so, and I purchase a new one, what do I do about the mileage issue?

As far as the mileage, ask your relatives about the BCM recording the mileage. If it's true, ask them how the dealer feels about correcting the mileage if the BCM is bought from a junkyard. If the dealer is willing to correct it (if possible) have them look at the mileage before you change it out other wise I would have a notary verify it and put there seal of approval on it. I'm sure they too will want to verify mileage before the change out. AAA comes to mind.

My intermittant "ghost" wipers on '96 went to full-on and could not turn them off (had to pull the fuse). After changing the switch in the steering column, it had no affect and the BCM was the next suspect. I researched the options (new, used, etc...) on the internet, I found a place that will rebuild/repair your BCM in a couple of days for $145. Used ones are $100 and you still don't know what other problems you're going to have later with it. This way, they diagnose the BCM and repair it - no worries about the mileage/flash issue, no worries about what other problems you might have with a salvaged part. Found the service at Directauto.com. I'm pulling my BCM today and shipping it to them for repair.

how about a blower motor that only comes on once in a while and a gas gage that doesnt work under 1/2 tank and the wipers only work on slow and fast no inter. ... radio wasw changed but before it was the factory one turned off and on when ever it wanted

BCM???
T

I have a 96 grand caravan LE with 235k mi. i was having similar problems with my dash lights, speedo, radio, tach, pretty much everything was going on and off when ever it pleased for a while. i had thought it was the bcm also. at 150 bucks and up i thought id to more troubleshooting first. i called up a local auto electric shop and they recomended that i clean or replace my neg bat termial first before replacing the bcm. i removed the terminal and it didnt look that bad but i took a small file and some baking soda water and made it shine. also put on those red and green corrosion pads on the terminals and i havent had a problem since. its just a suggestion. im sure each case is different but just offering an idea. Good luck!!!

Hi,

I have a '99 T&C. I recently bought it to replace my '99 GC (THrew a piston rod). THe dealer (Honda) did not have reomte entry fobs. But, I still had mine from the T&C. So, I followed the directions found on the thread for reporogramming key fobs (See http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=217760).

I jumped the green wire to the body ground. The green wire was in the corner of the data module. There was a small spark. Now I'm in trouble.

The radio no longer works. THe interior lights, door chime, power locks no longer work unless the key is in the 'run' position. And no, it didn't put the keyless into program mode.

Based on this thread, it sounds like I might have a BCM issue. Is there a fuse somewhere I can check? (Radio fuse is fine.) Could I have created a problem in the wiring harness? Where do I go from here?

Thanks in advance, GreendaleChrysler

Hi, I have a 99 caravan. I picked up another bcm for 20 bucks on ebay. I didnt match anything. I was trying to fix an engine light problem that didnt give me any codes. Well the bcm worked okay for the engine light but I lost my wiper washer and intermittent control. so I guess Ill have to put the old one back in and do a better job of matching. Also I didnt see any mileage difference when I put the replacement in. Anyway either the mileage was so close I didnt see it or Ill see something different when I put the old one back in. Very informative thread.

Hello, I have a 98 Dodge Caravan ES 3.8ltr. I'm experiencing a problem with my anti theft system. I dont have the remote only the key, which has been working fine till recently. Now my van is enabling the anti theft on its own. I looked it up online found out different ways to dis-alarm it. But its a total inconvenience! I called the Dodge dealership but they want entirely to much money to see whats wrong! Does anyone know what I must do in order to get the alarm working correctly and be able to drive my van? Please help!!!!!:mad::mad:

I was also having issues with my 99 Dodge Grand Caravan sport out of nowhere the fuel gauge would drop to EMPTY and the LOW FUEL LAMP/INDICATOR would come on triggering the LOW FUEL SOUND/CHIME as well even if the tank was full, half full or wherever.. it would do this at random! but it did not affect me driving the van in any way. Sometimes it would just completely stay on EMPTY for a few days! pumping gas would not make a difference I also noticed that when the fuel gauge was not working my interior electric door lock switches would not respond manually to open or close. Although my alarm remote did respond to open and close the locks. "Weird" Then, a third problem came along.. the first speed of my windshield wipers is supposed to be intermittent speed it would act as a high or medium speed. Also when I had the headlights on, my clock radio and the gear selector lights on the dash (D) (N) (R) etc would flicker/pulsate as they pleased! Any given day, the fuel gauge would return to work as normal .. door locks as well .. along with the other issues described then it would happen all over again .. either just the fuel gauge and locks or everything or just 1 thing would not work again etc! Just wanted to explain my symptoms so that others could compare to their situation. Long story short, I removed the BCM, wrote down the part # which was 4686492AE by the way Looked it up on ebay and found a few of them, found one with a good price, for me at least! (60$) and I received it, installed it and all works great now! Right before I replaced the BCM with the one from Ebay I checked everything, neither fuel, locks, or 1st speed wipers were working. Right when I installed the replacement, everything worked perfectly! it took me about 2 hours I'm not the smallest guy so getting under the dash in between the driver seat to work at a 45 degree angle is a pain in the neck! have patience a cool drink and good luck! PS: Your miles will change to whatever miles the replacement part van had. I had 300k .. new miles were 155k .. the bcm stores the miles as well. if anyone needs a manual on how to remove the bcm you can see this page here. BCM REMOVE MANUAL http://www.jamesmskipper.us/AutoRepair/BCMReplacement.html Tools needed Phillips screwdriver Socket wrench with sockets & extension