DejaVUE
10-01-2008, 01:47 PM
Long post... so here are my questions up front: Has anyone ever heard of this happening (see subject)? If so, is there a TSB about it? Is it possible that another reflash will fix it?
Are there any Saturn techs that still hang out around here? I'm currently stationed in Germany, and the BCM in my '03 VUE needed replacing. I contacted the Opel dealership nearby that services US spec cars. They told me they could program it "no problem," but it would be cheaper for me if I got the part.
So I did.
I took it in today for the programming. I have my Valentine One radar detector remote display mounted where the "VUE" nameplate used to live in the center panel, and the cord leads to a connector under the steering column. The way I had to mount it, it's not possible to unplug it from the remote display end. With that being said, I went ahead and did the interior disassembly in the dealership parking lot when I dropped the car off. That way they didn't have to bother with my aftermarket wiring and I didn't have to worry about them botching anything when taking it apart. I tell you this because it comes into play in a minute.
When I went to pick up the car this afternoon, it was still disassembled. That's what I wanted. I put it all back together and went on my way. I should mention that right then I noticed the techs at Opel did a shoddy job. They didn't properly remount the BCM (left one "leg" of the mount completely disengaged from the slot). They obviously never disconnected my battery before replacing my BCM - unless, of course they reset my radio clock AND all of my radio station presets.
On the way home, I noticed that the IP lights weren't working. I pulled over, and quickly disassembled the dash again to be sure I hooked up the dimmer switch. I had. I took it back to the dealer and argued with the service tech that worked on my car for a good while. I finally left and told him I would go home to be sure it wasn't something I did before I turned him loose on it again.
I checked all of my interior fuses. They're fine. I checked the rheostat with a multimeter. It works fine. I checked for a 5v reference signal at the rheostat. It's there. So then, I decided to reconnect my old BCM to see if that fixed the problem...
It DID.
So, does this sound like I got a bad BCM from Saturn, or is is possible that something could have gone wrong during the installation and/or programming? I should note that the dimmer switch was obviously disconnected when they flashed the BCM. Could that have anything to do with it?
Anybody ever heard of this happening? There wouldn't happen to be a TSB about it, would there?
Incidentally, it wasn't a "no problem" kind of thing for Opel to flash the BCM... at least not according to them. They claim they had to reprogram their Tech II for Saturn, since Saturn doesn't use standard GM type programming or something (nevermind that lately many Saturns have been nothing more than rebadged Opels - and vice versa). They only charged me 2.5 hours of labor, and claim to have cut that in half compared to the time they actually spent doing the job.
So now the question is: if it's a bad BCM, am I going to be the one responsible for getting the new part from Saturn, and am I going to be left holding the bag for 166 Euro of labor (about $250) AGAIN?
Are there any Saturn techs that still hang out around here? I'm currently stationed in Germany, and the BCM in my '03 VUE needed replacing. I contacted the Opel dealership nearby that services US spec cars. They told me they could program it "no problem," but it would be cheaper for me if I got the part.
So I did.
I took it in today for the programming. I have my Valentine One radar detector remote display mounted where the "VUE" nameplate used to live in the center panel, and the cord leads to a connector under the steering column. The way I had to mount it, it's not possible to unplug it from the remote display end. With that being said, I went ahead and did the interior disassembly in the dealership parking lot when I dropped the car off. That way they didn't have to bother with my aftermarket wiring and I didn't have to worry about them botching anything when taking it apart. I tell you this because it comes into play in a minute.
When I went to pick up the car this afternoon, it was still disassembled. That's what I wanted. I put it all back together and went on my way. I should mention that right then I noticed the techs at Opel did a shoddy job. They didn't properly remount the BCM (left one "leg" of the mount completely disengaged from the slot). They obviously never disconnected my battery before replacing my BCM - unless, of course they reset my radio clock AND all of my radio station presets.
On the way home, I noticed that the IP lights weren't working. I pulled over, and quickly disassembled the dash again to be sure I hooked up the dimmer switch. I had. I took it back to the dealer and argued with the service tech that worked on my car for a good while. I finally left and told him I would go home to be sure it wasn't something I did before I turned him loose on it again.
I checked all of my interior fuses. They're fine. I checked the rheostat with a multimeter. It works fine. I checked for a 5v reference signal at the rheostat. It's there. So then, I decided to reconnect my old BCM to see if that fixed the problem...
It DID.
So, does this sound like I got a bad BCM from Saturn, or is is possible that something could have gone wrong during the installation and/or programming? I should note that the dimmer switch was obviously disconnected when they flashed the BCM. Could that have anything to do with it?
Anybody ever heard of this happening? There wouldn't happen to be a TSB about it, would there?
Incidentally, it wasn't a "no problem" kind of thing for Opel to flash the BCM... at least not according to them. They claim they had to reprogram their Tech II for Saturn, since Saturn doesn't use standard GM type programming or something (nevermind that lately many Saturns have been nothing more than rebadged Opels - and vice versa). They only charged me 2.5 hours of labor, and claim to have cut that in half compared to the time they actually spent doing the job.
So now the question is: if it's a bad BCM, am I going to be the one responsible for getting the new part from Saturn, and am I going to be left holding the bag for 166 Euro of labor (about $250) AGAIN?