Hey all... As some of you might know.. I was previously having issues with my bcm not unlocking my doors and hatch...

I finally ordered a replacemend "new" bcm which is made by AC Delco. However, my question is this:

Do I have to have my new bcm "Flashed" by the dealer in order for it to work in my car... I called the dealership today & was told that the only way that it will work is if I drive my car over there with my old bcm unit in the car & that they must flash it for it to work...

Only problem is the flash is $105-115 bucks :bang:... Is there any truth to this or do they just want some free money?!...

Thanks in advance for your help.

Correcting my previous thread... ****They said that I have to drive the car over to the dealership with the old unit in the car & take them the new unit so that they can flash it.... & its not until then that my car will work... according to the dealership?...

Anyone else have any experience with installing a new bcm?..

if you can get access to tech 2 or iflash u can program it.
be able for them to flash it they need your car there well pretty much change the VIN on bcm so it communicate with pcm and antitheft

If your VATS is turned off in the pcm it shouldn't matter. Is it?

There is no programming involved - the dealer is either clueless or trying to rip you off. The only thing that the BCM has to learn is the resistance value of your ignition key for the VATS system. A new BCM learns the resistance value of the first key used and it can't be changed after that.

All you have to do is plug in the new BCM and start the car with your regular key. There are no special programming steps involved. Then call your dealer and tell them to look it up in the service manual. (It's not Nimnicht, is it?)

Unfortunately, you can't tune out VATS on an f-body. The BCM is not programmable. It prevents starting with the wrong key in two ways - it disables ground to the starter relay and it doesn't send a fuel enable signal to the PCM. You can program the PCM to ignore the missing fuel enable signal but you can't prevent the BCM from disabling the starter. Of course, you could rewire the starter relay to an alternate ground location but then you have to live with the security light in the dash all the time. In this case it doesn't matter because the new BCM will recognize the first key it sees.

Hey all... Thanks for your imput and enlightenment on this subject. I was disappointed that I was not going to be able to finish this simple fix myself...

By the way... Whitebird... Thanks alot... That is music to my ears!... I was skeptical, but nonetheless, had I not posted this thread, I would have been out $100+ dollars on their needed "flash".... By the way... That was the Cadillac/GM dealership Claude Nolan off of Southside Blvd....

Hopefully my unit should get here either Thursday or Friday. I will definetly let you all know how it turned out.

Thanks again!

You shouldn't have any problem - several other members here have done the same replacement and it's just as easy as it sounds (plug in and turn the key).

You might want to give Nimnicht on Philips Hwy. near the Avenues Mall a try. Talk to Gene in the service department. He appreciates muscle cars and has always taken good care of me.

sorry to hijack the thread but id like to swap my bcm as well, i have the flickering issue and not really into soldering and also would like remote entry. my question is will a US spec bcm swap over to a US export car? mine is a Japan imported/spec car and am worried that it wont work out...am tired of the flickering and no remote entry!!

I wanted to post some pics... so that others might look at how some have done temp. fixes on a bcm... This was the bcm I removed from my car. Apparently the previous owner had gerry rigged the bcm.

I was hoping that removal and a sodder gun would have fixed my problem. But after opening it up and "attempting" another temporary fix. I realized it was better buying another bcm. Here are the pics of the old bcm which I removed like in 8 minutes... Thanks in part to research & even more to the many forum members that have helped out.

Sorry all.... Apparently I am not an expert at uploading pics yet... When I click "Insert Image" it asks me for a url website, instead of asking me which folder I want to upload from. WHen I figure it out I will upload.

-Tony

Also. WhiteBird I took your advice and also confirmed with Gene about the plug and play of the new bcm of the vehicle. He also confirmed your previous quote. So for others who need or have to do a bcm swap, the advice I can give is if it is a "U.S." car, and you need to replace the unit, and do not want to have the hassle of a VAPS over ride, or having to change out the ignition key, purchase a "NEW" bcm.

The new bcm just plugs back in.... The new unit just like WhiteBird and others have advised, will recognize the first key inserted and program itself automatically. Its just that simple. The only other thing I had to do is re-program my factory alarm to recognize my new bcm. The instructions are in the users manual, or I also saw another thread whereby a fellow member has posted all the manuals for a number of years of Trans-AMs.

Hope this helps anyone wanting to do a future replacement.

-Tony

In conclusion the New BCM DOES NOT have to be "flashed by the dealer"!.... Glad I didn't get ripped off by the first dealership. Takeaway lesson... Some research and help from fellow members can save you time and $.

First off, I don't know what type of flickering issue you are having... is it your dash, interior lights, radio????....Secondly, what type of vehicle is it that you have? Note: I by no means am an expert, but... If it is a us exported F-Body/ Camaro, then I can assume that a U.S. bcm would work.... Just make sure you check all appropriate fuses and wiring/ground before jumping straight to the bcm swap..... Also, there are some BCM fixes if you look around the threads via the "search" function.

Few quick solder repairs and my car was back to normal :drive:

it is a 98 Z28 as my sig says..it has the usual windows/radio flickering (on off randomly) i can fix the pcm but id love to have a remote entry. so if i bought a used pcm ill have to go to the dealer right? i think am just going to solder it and be done with it :)

Do you purchase the new BCM's from dealership or is there a different supplier that is recommended. I changed my BCM last year. I put a used one in. Thjankfully it had the same vats code. Car started right up but my Keyless remote doesn't work. It didn't work before I changed it.

Actually, you're in luck. The only difference between a car with keyless entry and one without is the remote key fob. The BCM is the same in both cases (i.e. all 98-02 F-bodies came with a BCM that supports keyless entry).

All you have to do is buy a remote fob and program it as listed in the owner's manual.

That explains a lot on a recent 98 PCM/LS1 swap to a 94Z. With nothing changed the starter and fuel was not operational. With a VATS disable in HTuners fuel was up but starter wasn't. I made a push button start to bypass it because I didn't have anymore time to fool with it at that moment. Good to know what the exact problem is.

You can do either.... I personally went online and did some searching of the same part number and found a new one which was significantly cheaper than the one at the dealership. Recieved it, and 15 minutues later the car was on and problems were solved ;)

Is that true? A friend of mine with a 99 has opened up his factory BCM and noticed that there is no antenna installed on the circuit board. His car came without the keyless entry option.

The same part number (9353691) is the only one listed for all 97-02 f-bodies and it includes the keyless entry function.

Your friend can test using the following procedure (from the owner's manual):
If the vehicle responds as described then you know that it is ready to program remote key fobs.

WB,

Is there an aftermarket fob you recommend?

Can the hatch release be activated with a separate button?

Sorry my owner's manual is not anywhere nearby.

To my knowledge, their isn't an aftermarket fob that will pair up with the stock system. But there are lots of OEM fobs available inexpensively on eBay so you don't have to buy from a dealer.

Check here for Owner's Manuals for the 1993-2002 F-body:
http://shbox.com/pdf/manuals.html