QuestionQUESTION: I am looking to purchase a 2000 Sebring Convertible and the owner says that the car drives well, but the speedometer/odometer and radio don't work and while driving at highway speeds, the battery light will come on intermittently. He said he has had it diagnosed and it is the BCM. Does this sound correct and what would be the repair cost if I was to replace tbe BCM? Thanks
ANSWER: Hi Michael,
I would like to see the paperwork on that diagnosis if it is available because I don't believe the bcm could be blamed for either. My suggestion would be to take the vehicle to an Autozone parts store where they will do a free readout of fault codes stored in the engine and transmission controller, or an independent shop that should do it for $40 or less. Get the 4-digit code number(s) and let me know what they are.
The problem with the speedo/odo could either be the output sensor of the transmission which creates the signal about how fast/far the vehicle is going, sends it to the trans controller which sends it to the engine controller which sends it to the body computer which sends it to the instrument cluster. That signal, except for the first two steps also is carried with other signals that apparently are working. So that means either there is no signal from the sensor of the wire from the trans sontroller to the powertrain controller is 'open', or that the speedo-odo is not itself working or possibly has lost its solder joint to the circuit board.
The radio issue could simply be a blown fuse #14 in the box behind the left end-cap of the dash, or the radio itself could be faulty.
The battery light probably means the alternator is failing and the code readout may corroborte that.
The cost of these depends upon which is the actural cause but I don't see any as major. It depends upon the cost of a part if needed and whether you do it yourself or hire a mechanic.
I don't see a single item (e.g. the bcm) as the cause of all three.
Roland
PS Please 'rate' my answer. Thanks
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thank you very much, will the code reader at Autozone give me an accurate mileage for the vehicle even if the odometer is not working?
AnswerI don't know for sure. It depends upon if the output sensor/wire is the problem (in which case it would be no, no matter who does the reading) or the cluster was the problem (which would be yes, but a dealer-reader called a DRB III would probably get the mileage out of the body computer whereas an Autozone reader might not). You could ask at Autozone if their reader can access the mileage reading stored in the bcm. If not then you would have to go to a dealer and pay them to tell you.
