The trunk wires are easily exposed by pulling back the rubber boot. Any broken wires s/b soldered or spliced.

Might try Module Masters; not sure if they can fix the LKM.

Has the car been in a flood?

 

Edjack. Very good question. The mechanic asked the very same thing. I bought it used without any background check being available. I just want things fixed enough to sell and its craiglist and newspaper classified ad after that.

 

May I also add that the reason why I finally ended up at the mechanic. I was driving and my battery light came on. After work the car refused to start - nothing. Horn, lights, dash, radio and A/C all worked but not a peep from engine when key is turned to start. Car was towed to mechanic who said that he "had to" change starter, alternator and some module behind glove box. With the headlights turning on by themselves and windows and central locking still not working he took the car to an auto electrical specialist, which brings me to today.

 

Not a chance the starter was related. I bet your problem stem from a dead battery and a toasted alternator.

 

It doesn't sound like the LCM is the root of your issues, but search the forums for replacment chips - no point in replacing the entire LCM.

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209896&highlight=lcm+chip

 

I am going to try the mouser dot com substitute chip part # vn750-E at $1.84 and have it Fedex overnight to me ($35) . Its worth the try and the saved $$. I hope the electrician hadn't put in the $500 LCM yet.

 

UPDATE.
The auto electrician had already installed the replacement LCM before I arrived and refused to undo his work so I had to fork over $500 plus $200 labor. He said that with all the test equipment he has he still was not able to fix the window and central locking problem. Each window has to be open from each door and central locking only works for rear doors. Only driver side mirror works still.

But I do have some good news. Changing the LCM the:
1. headlights now work perfectly (well the auto tilt adjustment seem not to be working but I am okay with that)
2. my turn signals now flash on the dash display (when I bought the car only the outside flashed)
3. My hazard lights work (never worked at all when I bought the car)
4. my reverse lights worked (those went out months ago and I thought I had a faulty bulb)
5. I now have reverse siren when car is backing up (beep, beep, beep, beep)
6. headlight switch light is no longer always on (I had thought this was just the way e39's came)
7. hazard light switch light is no longer always illuminated ( this was only discovered after the mechanic found that the previous owner had disconnected the switch and after mechanic reconnected the switch light remained on but after the changed LCM it now works perfect)

Overall, the $500 for the replacement LCM was heavy but I am satisfied with all the immediate improvements. I doubt just changing the single chip in my damage LCM would have done all this.

But I will place my still remaining problems in a new thread for better clarity.

 

UPDATE.
The auto electrician had already installed the replacement LCM before I arrived and refused to undo his work so I had to fork over $500 plus $200 labor. He said that with all the test equipment he has he still was not able to fix the window and central locking problem. Each window has to be open from each door and central locking only works for rear doors. Only driver side mirror works still.

But I do have some good news. Changing the LCM the:
1. headlights now work perfectly (well the auto tilt adjustment seem not to be working but I am okay with that)
2. my turn signals now flash on the dash display (when I bought the car only the outside flashed)
3. My hazard lights work (never worked at all when I bought the car)
4. my reverse lights worked (those went out months ago and I thought I had a faulty bulb)
5. I now have reverse siren when car is backing up (beep, beep, beep, beep)
6. headlight switch light is no longer always on (I had thought this was just the way e39's came)
7. hazard light switch light is no longer always illuminated ( this was only discovered after the mechanic found that the previous owner had disconnected the switch and after mechanic reconnected the switch light remained on but after the changed LCM it now works perfect)

Overall, the $500 for the replacement LCM was heavy but I am satisfied with all the immediate improvements. I doubt just changing the single chip in my damage LCM would have done all this.

But I will place my still remaining problems in a new thread for better clarity.

i'm no expert but a few weeks ago i searched help for the headlight always on on my '97 520i 173kmls. after suggestions from the good people of this forum i decided to look into it and to try to sort it out without the need of a new LCM. not quite there just yet but my point is i know now what's to be done in replacing it and frankly $200 is way too much.:tsk:

 

In Canada and the US, unless you authorize the work you can refuse payment. The LCM isn't hard to install or reinstall; he is ripping you off. Find a new mechanic.

The LCM is separate from the General Module which controls the doors and central locking. Some of those symptoms could indicate that the GM has been programmed to function that way, possibly.

The reverse siren is an aftermarket modification. I bet some of your problems come from bad mods.

 

hope you get to the end of it

 

Tough to be in the Bahamas right now. At the mercy of the guys with the correct tools. I had to fork over the money but I am pleased that so many features were added. My 525i is a European model and supposedly the reverse siren is a built-in factory feature that is a part of the transmission system.

I went to the diagnostic center today and they said that my LCM would not have been fixed with the chip replacement. It was damaged before I bought it and that is why I didn't even know that some features actually existed.

The diagnostic centre said that it could find the source of the problem for the central locking and windows. The GM is reading as working perfectly but interesting he could only get the wipers to operate through his diagnostic software. Nothing else was respond, which strong points to true GM problem. His suggestion is that half of the GM is damaged (the section that controls the front cabin area while the rear cabin and trunk section is still functioning perfect. He told me to return on the weekend and he will try swapping out the GM with one from another car at his facility to see if that will correct the problem. If it does then we know its a GM problem and I will have to get a replacement, otherwise.......

 

Yes they can be repaired

www.lcm-repairs.co.uk