shelly81685

I am having problems with my 01 jeep grand cherokee. Some times it will start & run fine but lately sometimes when I go to start it the gages go crazy & it won't start at all. I have had a couple people tell me that it is the BCM??? (I'm not a mechanic but I do do some of my own work) so I checked into buying a new BCM & they are quite pricey and can't really afford it so I then checked on a used one witch is more in my price range but when I talked to the dealership they tell me you can't put a used one on it, it has to be new & they have to program it??? (If that is the case why case why would people sell a used ones???) PLEASE HELP!!!
Does it sound like it's the BCM? Can you use a used one? If so does it have to be programmed?

dave1123

Welcome to CF!

Before you go replacing the BCM, check your battery cables. I had the same basic problem with my '00 WJ and it turned out to be corrosion on the small wire molded into the cable end. The clamp was tight on the battery post but the connection of the smaller wire inside the cable end wouldn't supply enough voltage to activate the PCM properly. I cut the factory end off, cleaned the 2 wires, and installed a new clamp-on cable end.

This happened last Christmas and since then it's gotten MUCH colder and the problem has not raised it's ugly head since. I hope it's your problem as well.