BODY CONTROL UNIT (Description): DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION

BODY CONTROL UNIT

DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION

86-3-1

BODY CONTROL UNIT

DESCRIPTION AND OPERATION

Description

General
The Body Control Unit (BCU) is located behind the passenger glovebox and is connected to the main harness by four 
connectors on its bottom edge and an additional connector located on the side of the BCU casing. Mounting the BCU 
behind the fascia makes it reasonably inaccessible for intruders to disable the anti-theft system.

The BCU uses solid-state microprocessor control to perform logical operations and timing functions for a variety of 
the vehicle's electrically operated systems, these include:

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Door locking.

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Anti-theft alarm and immobilisation system.

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Exterior lighting including direction indicators and hazard warning lamps.

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Courtesy lighting.

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Wipers and washers.

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Electric windows and sunroof.

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Heated windows.

The BCU also communicates with several other electronically controlled systems such as the EAT ECU and SLABS 
ECU and also has a datalink between the Intelligent Driver Module (IDM) and the instrument pack. The datalink is a 
low speed bus capable of transmitting and receiving messages at a data rate of 10,400 bits per second. Additional 
inputs and outputs to peripheral devices are included which are necessary for determining vehicle status for particular 
logical operations e.g. crank, ignition key inserted, fuel flap enable etc.

The BCU receives its power supply from the engine compartment fuse box, and is protected by a 10 A fuse.

The BCU communicates with the IDM to provide the control signals to perform power switching operations in 
conjunction with dedicated relays.

IDM
The IDM is integrated into the passenger compartment fuse box, which is mounted behind the fascia below the 
steering column. There are no harnesses between the fuse box and the IDM. The IDM performs the power switching 
operations for several of the vehicle's electrical systems.

The IDM communicates with the BCU and the instrument pack via a serial interface. If the BCU or the IDM is replaced, 
the communications link between the two units has to be re-established. This can be done either by switching on the 
ignition and leaving it on for five minutes, or by using TestBook. The vehicle immobilisation will remain active until the 
communications link between the BCU and IDM has been re-established.

Transit mode
To prevent excessive battery drain during transit to overseas markets, the vehicle is placed in a transit mode. The 
following functions are disabled when the vehicle is in transit mode:

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Volumetric sensors.

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Passive immobilisation.

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Immobilisation of the vehicle by use of door lock.

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Ignition key interlock.

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Electric seat enable time-out with driver's door open.