Chrysler Repair: 1998 Chrysler T&C anti theft problems, little fishy, fakeout

Question
Hello Ronald,
I just read a post about the Chrysler van that went into the shut down anti theft mode and disabled the starting and fuel system, well I have one doing the same thing.  I can let it sit anywhere from 5 minutes to over night and it starts back up like nothing happened.  I took my 1998 Chrysler T&C LXI to the dealer after confirming this is the problem and they tried to access the BCM.  They told me they couldnt not get into it and said I needed a new BCM.  This sounds to me a little fishy to me and I would have thought they could have retrived some kind of code.  They wanted $1,500 to replace it and I did not have it repaired because of the cost.  In your experance, have you ran across this problem and is it worth it to get a reapired or a reman BCM?  The cost to do this is 1/3 the cost of the dealer price but it still comes with a price so I want to make sure this is the problem.  Any help on this would be greatly aprechated

Answer
Hi Wally,
Disarming the system can be done from either door lock using a key (try lock/unlock, and try the passenger door too) of by a key fob if you have one. If it is refusing to disarm there are a couple of choices:
Check out the wiring from the door lock cylinder to the bcm for a disconnect and repair that,
Do a fakeout of the bcm using a resistor and a 12v supply jumper and get to the pin on the bcm plug where the door lock key inputs that voltage pulse, but that is a bit of a hassle,
Avoid the problem entirely by never setting the alarm system.
Unfortunately you can't disconnect it because it is part of the bcm. But if you avoid using the power door locks, the door key or the key fob when exiting and instead secure the van only by using the interior mechanical push bottons then it won't arm at all and so it won't fail to disarm.
Let me know if you want the details on which of these to try.
Roland