BCM computer help

[a1abob]

I live in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and own a 1997 Pontiac Grand Am. Recently all the dash lights lit up and all gauges went down to zero. The car still drove fine. Bringing the car to my mechanic, he took me to an ex GM electrical and computer repairman here. They didn't have the equipment to help me, so they shipped my dash to Guadalajara, about 4 hours away. A week later, the dash came back with no success.

I was then told to go to our GM dealer here, which I just did today to get a BCM diagnostic report. Six hours later I called and they told me they didn't have the equipment at the GM dealership either.

Now I'm out of options locally and am hestitant to drive to Guadalajara with the dash out of wack. The car drives great, but with all the gauges out, I wouldn't know if I'm in any trouble.

Any suggestions would be extremely appreciated and please do understand that I don't know very much about cars.

Thanks so much.

[Ridenour]

Welcome to the forum. I'm not sure, but it might be worth checking into the condition of the grounds for the BCM. The BCM is located underneath the glovebox area at the bottom of the dash. If I were you, I would disconnect your battery, and pull all the grounds for the BCM from the frame and clean them all (it is easy for them to be corroded by common leaks in this area) as well as the areas that they meet the frame at. You could also pull the BCM connectors and see what condition they're in, and maybe clean them with precision electronics cleaner. That's all I can think of - good luck.