I am hating VW

[Sunny43.5]

For the second time in around 6 or 8 years it looks like the BCM in our van has gone to lunch , six years ago we lost interior and parking lights with no apparent reason . Well here we are six years later and its happened again exactly the same as last time , the weird thing like last time was that the number plate ligth still works I am so over this bloody van at the moment . So currently we are trying to sell the van but seem to be pouring money hand over fist trying to get it to roadworthy condition , so far in the last month we had some dents removed with the near disastourous fire . All that was fixed and took it in to get serviced and Roadworthy certificate the workshop told me it needed new rear rotors and pads wheel alighnment and tyre rotation and as it transpired two days before then we got hit with abig hail storm and bingo broken windscreen and some small dents on the bonnet . After the near fire incident I should have let the bastard burn as I would have got $21000 right off value . Now I will be lucky to get much at all as the money spent will be lost repairing it . So a question is there a big deal in fitting a second hand BCM from a wreck of the same engine DSG etc I will get the old one out and check the part number before chasing a second hand one . Yes at the moment I hate VW !! Oh incase anyone was wondering I did get the reverse lights to work , I found a 12v signal at the Can Bus decoder on the back of the aftermarket stereo tapped into that wire and ran a wire to the rear where I fitted a relay and bingo reverse lights working again . My Launch V series diagnostics tool tells me there is open circuit at Terminal 30 with list of options to check and guess what yep BCM is most likely the culprit , yes I hate VW end of rant .Sorry .

[DV52]

Sunny43.5: Hi.

Understandable "rant" aside - I'm not sure if you anticipated that anyone reading your post would be familiar with your car - but you don't indicate which particular make/model "van" this car is!!. It matters because replacing a BCM can be a non-trivial exercise depending on the platform build of the vehicle.

My other comment regarding the words in your post is - are you absolutely certain that the BCM has gone pear-shape? If so, why because an "open circuit Terminal 30' error can have many other causes (including relay failure, faulty wiring etc.)?

Don

[BrianJ]

In your post called 'lucky escape', you mention that the wiring caught fire where it comes out of the back and I take that to mean into the tailgate door. I don't know why it caught on fire, but a short and high current comes to mind, and also that it could have melted the insulation of individual wires in the loom, causing a short that is now affecting the BCM. Have you considered this possibility?

[rgh0]

mmmmm...... So you hate VW because of a fire during some dint removable and a hailstorm??? I suggest you look up "acts of god: not "acts of VW?

[Sunny43.5]

Ok to clarify some aspects of the situation 2012 T5.1 Turbo diesel , yes I am certain its the BCM as the current problem is identcal in every way to what happened afew years ago . The fire incident was that we had soundproofed or van very comprehensivley so in the rear pillars there was rolled up sections of old matress toppers which are foam and nylon cotton mix and the rear taillight wires and ABS wires were in there as well .The repair people were not aware that the foam was behind where they welded tthose metal keys they use to pull dents out so it was quickly extinguished . Those wires on one side only were replaced individually with new wires with each joint soldered and heat shrinked covered so no dodgy job done , every thing was working properly after then but it was several days later when the reverse lights failed and then the tail lights failed . Yes I did research open circuit which my Launch V series scanner reported . The most annoying part when the reverse lights failed was that from most reports fuse "15 " in the engine bay would be the possible problem but in our van that fuse is not even in the fuse box !I I spent a huge amount of time checking every wire and fuses with no luck there was just no signal for the reverse lights anywhere even though the instrument binnacle showed R along with the indicator at the shift lever . The only signal found was at the CAN bus decoder in the aftermarket head unit which also turns on the reverse cameras , thats what I used to send a signal to the reverse lights via a relay . So current situation is reverse lights working number plate light working along with headlights but no interior lights or tail lights front parking lights .

[Sunny43.5]

mmmmm...... So you hate VW because of a fire during some dint removable and a hailstorm??? I suggest you look up "acts of god: not "acts of VW?

RGHO this is not an "act of god" as we have like many others found VWs technology to be massivly flawed and whats worse VW know that , explain why VW make a divider to prevent the possible failure of the serpentine belt tangling with the timing belt but dont tell anyone about that ? a $45 part which stops that from occuring is sadly ommited during construction saving possible engine destruction .Our current van has had 3 serpentine belt failures in the last 3 years with no explanation again the divider saved the engine as I had one fitted when I found out about it on this Forum many years ago . Same as the older T5 tiptronic with "sealed for life " which also failed for no other reason than VW seem to think the fluid would stay in pristine condition for a "reasonable time " That little oversight cost us just under $10000 for a van with only 120000kms . I can also add that DMF in these vans is another failure , reversing up a hill for around 50 metres destroyed my older T5s DMF in its manual gearbox and this current van with DSG has also suffered DMF problems due to reversing short distances into our driveway .