My 09 Suburban Needs A Body Control Module

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Dec 12, 2006
Messages
2,842
Location
LI, NY
Great... Huge single point of failure. My brother knows a guy that comes to you and programs them but he doesn't sell them. Any suggestions? Dealer?
 
Dealer.....i would have it flashed/configured by the same dealer as well. GM will not warrant one configured by a 3rd party.

In general.....Most BCM failures are from Cold/Cracked solder joints.
 
You can just pull it out and sent to have the solder joints fixed. No need to reprogram since it is the original.
banana2.gif
 
Originally Posted by LazyDog
You can just pull it out and sent to have the solder joints fixed. No need to reprogram since it is the original.
banana2.gif



Yep.

I've done this with many Volvo modules. Worked great. I used these guys: https://xemodex.com/us/

They fix the module (solder joints, bulbs, power supply, transistors, whatever) and ship it back. They have express shipping. They are an example of a module repair company. Don't know if they've got the service for your exact module, but...

I'm willing to bet that there is a whole trade industry fixing GM modules. Google. Surf the Chevy forums.

Barring that, get the dealer to do it. A new (or used) module that isn't original to your car will need to be reprogrammed. For that, you'll want full - up dealer software and a warranty.
 
Last edited:
I've got the skill to get it out, but I'm no good at soldering...

And if the problem is more complex than soldering (e.g. transistor or power supply failure) then I'm way over my head.

This is something that I would farm out, personally...
 
You need none at all. You're not even soldering. You're just reflowing. Touch the tip to the old solder until it turns fluid. Lift tip off. Repeat for other solder points. Done.

I did my last one sitting on a box in my garage while falling asleep.

When my friend had the same problem with his other truck, his 10 year old son duplicated my work. If you can use a razor and write your name with a pen, you're good to go.

Don't worry about what might be wrong. It's a 45 minute job. If it doesn't work, then toss that thing off. But that's just my perspective. I haven't encountered one that was anything more than the solder yet.
 
The power transistor on the 535i ECU would break solder joints. I watched Peter Florrance revive 2 out of 3 with a soldering iron. The 3rd smelled fried. At the time a new ECU was 1500$. I described the operation to a noob on the board and he fixed his.. You can see a broken solder joint. There is a black ring just below the top of the blob.It is carbon from arcing.
grin2.gif
 
I have the benefit of a stereomicroscope available to me. Instead of reflowing dozens of good solder joints, I'll inspect the unit and find the broken and iffy solder joints.
 
The GM BCM doesn't have many. Might have been ten.

I always reflow all of them. If I have the unit open and my iron in front of me, do I really want to put it back together with the rest of the time bombs still ticking?

If one poorly done joint did the unit in, what reasonable assumption can one make about the rest of the joints?
 
@ NYE - if you don't have an iron, pick up a 30 watt iron and some solder. Get the iron hot and moisten the tip with solder. if it doesn't adhere, scuff it lightly and try again. Keep a moist sponge or rag nearby to clean the tip.

As D'Wasp said, just reflow - but having your own spool will help if the tip gets dry, tacky, or you find a joint that is too dry.


@ Astro14 - I've read your posts. You can do this. Pick up an iron and some solder and practice on scrap 14 to 24 gauge wire and you'll get the feel for it.
 
Meep... Thanks. I've got plenty of experience making emergency field repairs to printed circuit boards. I'm all set. I've got the perfect iron for this job. I'm excited to do it. I may try and do it as soon as I get home from work today.

I'll post back and let everyone know how it goes.
 
Ok... I am a peepee. I got the BCM out of my truck pretty easily and got it open slightly less easily. I inspected it and realized I needed a magnifying glass so I went and got one at Ace. Still found NOTHING. I reassembled it and put it back in. Everything works the same.
I'm going to order a new one on Monday.

I just fixed the board in a VFD last week at work. After watching a few youtube videos I figured I had this in the bag.
 
Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
There's nothing to see. Every one I did looked perfect. Just hit all the joints and then they worked.



Oh. OK... I was looking for a cracked solder joint. I'll give it a shot.
 
Originally Posted by NYEngineer
Originally Posted by DoubleWasp
There's nothing to see. Every one I did looked perfect. Just hit all the joints and then they worked.



Oh. OK... I was looking for a cracked solder joint. I'll give it a shot.


agree - just reflow them. I've run into this in powered PA speakers where the boards vibrate a lot. Can't see it... just reflow. and who knows - it might not fix it... but what if it does!

-m
 
We do this type of repair on submarine often. I have done a few BCMs. It saves time and money.

Let us know how you make out.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top