Pvt_Murphy

Thanks to NVUSGT's and Chuck Cow's posts in this forum I was able to repair the EBCM C1214 Code on my 1999 with Active Handling. I'm writing this tutorial to give hope to all the pre-2001 owners who are getting the C1214 code.

My '99 started throwing the C1214 code around 98,500 miles, at first it would throw the code after I hit a bump or drove over some rough pavement, I would clear it, it would go away for a while, then I'd hit another bump and it would come back. It started getting more frequent and would sometimes just come on out of the blue. To me this pointed to an intermittent connection somewhere, either due to corrosion or a bad solder joint.

My first course of action was to check/disassemble/clean all of the grounds, plugs and fuses involved in the EBCM system. This did not resolve the problem. Seeing as no one serviced pre 2001 EBCM modules and I didn't have $1,000-2,000+ for a used one, I decided to try to fix it myself as I had nothing left to loose.

You need to be really good at de-soldeing if you want to attempt this. I believe the reason no-one services the pre-2001 units is because de-soldering the circuit board holding the relays and de-soldering the relays themselves is an immensely aggravating and delicate task. I will include some tips and tricks in the notes below.

Part one: EBCM removal
Tools needed: T25, T30, 10mm socket, various extensions and universal joints.

1) remove the air bridge and TB coupler
2) unplug the main connector by lifting the latch up and pulling it out
3) unplug the BPMV ground connector (single wire)
4) loosen the 2 10mm nuts attaching the BPMV (drivers side) to the bracket.5) remove the 10mm nut on the EBCM side attaching the EBCM to the bracket. Its on the bottom in the middle.
6) remove the stud and grommet for the 10mm nut. The stud for the 10mm nut sits on a rubber grommet that sits on a T30 bolt going through the EBCM to the BPMV.7) now the T30 bolt will be exposed, remove it.
8) remove the 4 T25 bolts in each corner of the EBCM
9) detach the EBCM from the BPMV and remove it.

Part two: EBCM relay replacement
Tools needed: T15, soldering iron (30W), solder sucker, de-soldering braid, flux-core solder, non-metallic prying tools. Patience, sooo muuuch patience.

1) remove the 2 T15 bolts holding the circuit board to the case
2) de-solder the 6 large connections in the upper-right hand corner
3) de-solder the 9 small connections in between the 2 relays4) remove the circuit board
5) de-solder the relays
6) solder in new relays
7) re-solder the circuit board connections
8) re-install the ECBM

Notes:
For EBCM removal, removing the upper radiator hose will help with access, but isn't necessary, I didn't.

De-soldering tips:
1) Do not use too hot of an iron, as it will burn the solder leads off the PCB. I had my iron set to 30w the whole time.
2) if the old solder isn't melting well, add some fresh flux-core solder to it, it should then melt easily.
3) if you can't get all the solder out of a connection, and only a little bit remains, melt it, and jiggle the pin around in the hole with a pair of plyers while the solder cools to keep it from sticking to the pin
4) for any connections where the previous 2 tips didn't help: use a plastic/nylon to pry up on the PCB from one side and melt the remaining connections in order to gradually lift the PCB off of them
5) you can wedge a plastic/nylon tool between the relays and the PCB and take turn melting the pins and wedging the relay apart from the PCB.

I replaced both of my relays since I didn't want to have to do this again if the other one went bad and the cost of a second relay is negligible.

Notes on replacement relays:
You will not find exact Bosch replacement replays, but any relay that meets the following criteria will do:

Single Pole Single Throw
4 Pin (no 87a)
50 Amp
Normally Open
No resistor in parallel with the coil
Footprint must be the same

I suggest you source a suitable replacement before hand. Here's where you have wiggle room:
1) If the relay has a mounting tab on the case, you can cut it off
2) If the relay is a socket type, you can cut the pins shorter so they wont extend too far past the PCB (about 1/2 their length)
3) the fuse for the system is 40amps, so you can probably get away with a 40amp relay instead of a 50amp.
4) if you can only find a 5 pin relay, you can cut pin 87a off.

So there you have it, a days work and $15 for two new relays, and my Vette is happy again. Godspeed to the rest of you dealing with this issue.

Robert Perkins

What is the part number of the relay you used? Where did you purchase from? Do you have any pictures of the circuit board and work in progress? By the way good writ up and thanks for the info and maybe hope repairing this unsupported part.

Pvt_Murphy

I purchased 2 Novita RL44 relays from Autozone, though I would not recommend this approach. They are 40amp relays instead of 50, they had mounting tabs I had to cut off the case, I had to cut the pins shorter and the 2 relays were not identical physically. Functionally they work, and have the same footprint as the original Bosch relays, but this was me rushing to get it done instead of waiting for something ordered online to arrive. There are definitely better suited relays that can be ordered online.

I took some photos but they don't show anything not already seen in Chuck Cow's post...

XXXLTRP

Well, today I rounded up the two Novita RL44 relays from Autozone, although you say it may not be the best because of the 40amp vs the 50amp.. I searched the net for a few hours and could not find the Bosch ones ( Bosch 0332019152) nor could I find the exact Tyco equivalent (V23234-B0002-X007). I welcome others to try and find em..I had no luck

Prior to your repair was your ABS and traction control lights on? Have you driven it and and forced the ABS and active handling to activate? Results?

0Chuck CoW

Most appreciated! Good job and likely a bit neater than MY desoldering stuff. BRAVO!

Not a job most people would want to tackle cause the desoldering is a PAIN IN THE *** and messy.


If you're accustomed to doing such work and are confident, then this is a good approach to try.

It will not fix EVERY ABS LIGHT, but some of the RELAY RELATED codes will usually fix this way.

Given there is NO CHANCE of a replacement unit coming around any time soon, this is a great way to

fix them and make the car whole again.

NOW, hopefully you start getting some of the million calls I get every week about this repair!!!

GREAT JOB and nice write up!
Chuck CoW

neutron82

very cool, hopefully this helps a lot of the people fix the older ebcm's... did your relay(s) have any broken solder joints?... I had the same code on my 02z and 3 of the solder joints were bad... I had already bought a relay just in case but all I needed to do was resolder the relay contacts and it was good to go, been trouble free since then... it's not that bad of a job regardless but if someone could get away with just resoldering the contacts it would be even easier

0Chuck CoW

I think many of them will get fixed this way.... BUT, I can't stress it enough....

DO PROPER DIAGNOSTICS FIRST and eliminate all the other EASY fixes first....

Then go at the module.... It's not fun...

Chuck CoW

Pvt_Murphy

Yes, I had the ABS an TCS lights on, the DIC would display Service ABS, Traction Control, and Active Handling. The code was C1214.

You should make sure your code is C1214, as there are other reasons those lights and messages may appear.

I have triggered my ABS and Traction Control several times since the repair and they worked perfectly without throwing a code.

Please check the grounds, connectors, and fuses in the system first as this really is a last resort fix.

Pvt_Murphy

This brings up a good point I didn't mention. In my case, I checked the solder joints and they were good, so I proceeded with disassembly. It turned out that one of my relays had bad contacts internally.

Pvt_Murphy

I've done some digging and I think I've found some relays that should be an exact fit:
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/...ty/7-1393302-7
http://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/...ty/7-1393302-5

The 7-1393302-5 relay is a plug type, so you'll need to trim the pins.

Gabe Graham

I'm not sure if anyone still needs help finding the relays but I have found a website or company that supplies them for cheap.

https://www.autoecu.com/electronic-c...-bpmv-new-1pc/

Good luck to any that attempt this repair.

Also If you are in the same boat as I am with a completely missing trace due to the capacitor blowing up from the bottom and catching fire, here's a link to a Nichicon capacitor that should work

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202909875730

The model number is different being H9508 instead of H9738 but should work perfectly. All other specs match up.

NTMMFTS

I'm about to replace the relays in my 2000 after trying everything other than working on the module itself. What do you think about this relay? https://www.newark.com/te-connectivi...vdc/dp/98K2479

50 amps and made for ABS control among other things, but I'm wondering if the two larger blades will fit through the slots on the board without modification.

Thanks!
~jay

Gabe Graham

As for the two large blades, I do not recall the slots being much bigger than the original blades themselves. I'm not sure how safe this would be but possibly using a Dremel to remove some of the blade material might work. I personally would not recommend it as removing material usually isn't safe but in this case, I can't really see an issue that would occur from it.


Looking at the blades for the relays in this picture, (don't mind the black lines, I was drawing a clearer line for one of the traces I had to jump/replace) they do not offer very much wiggle room. I personally would try to go with the OEM relay or ones that fit as modifying electrical systems to work can be completely fine, I would do OEM just for the ease of replacement. It took me about three hours to disassemble my module, replace both relays, replace my blown capacitor, and solder in three jumper wires. It's not very hard, but I would recommend a solder sucker, a good soldering iron, and flux. With patience and enough time, the job should come out clean and fairly simple. Wear a face mask of some sort as well due to the fumes from solder. I would hate to recommend this process to someone without warning them of this as well due to the fumes being able to cause cancer and other various health issues.

I believe I covered everything I could think of. In short, I would personally recommend the OEM relay for ease. I still do believe the others could be made to work but it would probably take much longer to do. The OEM ones as well are a little cheaper too which is nice. If I were going to do this repair again as well, I would buy two or three as well just in case this happens again in the future. There's no telling how long these relays will be available due to how the market is and its always nice to have a little security.

I hope I could help you out and that your repair goes well.

NTMMFTS

Thanks for the pic and recommendations. From what I understand the original relays are no longer available, or do you have a part # and/or source, or a recommended part #? In one thread the OP used 40 amp relays because originals couldn't be sourced, but I was hoping to use 50 amp relays so they last as long as possible. Thanks again, ~jay.

NTMMFTS

Aaaaand, I just found the exact Bosch relays here: https://www.autoecu.com/electronic-c...-bpmv-new-1pc/

No in-stock indication, so hopefully the order is successful.

~jay

mickyboy

I've followed the tutorial which was fantastic thank you. Looked inside my EBCM and my Capacitor has had a bad day. I'll try and replace it and advise you all how I go when I complete the job.

The question is, should I replace the relays as well.... I know I should but I don't want to mess with too much.... Encouragement or advice sought. Thanks

Gabe Graham

In my case where I wasn’t sure whether or not my relays actually did work, I still replaced them. I had no way of knowing what was actually working vs non working. For peace of mind, I would personally replace them. It’s a bit of a process if you’re not familiar with soldering but well worth the effort if they decide to go out a week after replacing the capacitor. Best of luck though with fixing it!

mickyboy

Thanks for responding and great advice in your previous post as well. Luckily I do have an electronics background from a long time ago so I'll give the relays the time and replacement that they need.

Thanks again for responding, these forums keep the C5 alive. I've only had myne for a few weeks and I knew what I bought, although I thought the 01-04 mod would suit my 99 as well... Not to worry, the worst I can do is not fix the issue 😁 It's always good to try.

QUOTE=Gabe Graham;1606594725]In my case where I wasn’t sure whether or not my relays actually did work, I still replaced them. I had no way of knowing what was actually working vs non working. For peace of mind, I would personally replace them. It’s a bit of a process if you’re not familiar with soldering but well worth the effort if they decide to go out a week after replacing the capacitor. Best of luck though with fixing it![/QUOTE]

RedRiderZR1

A couple of things I will put in here on this issue. First is, if you do this job buy a solder sucker iron. Makes the job a breeze de-soldering this board. They are pretty cheap online. I can pull one of these boards in 10 minutes using one of those and not damaging the traces. Will make this easier on you by a lot.Second thing is you can buy a used 98 99 cadillac Deville, Eldorado ebcm for cheap online to fix these relay, blown capacitor issues. Direct swap, same exact board. If the capacitor has blown and messed up the board this is a good way to fix that issue. These no comm issues on these boards are caused by the capacitor blowing sometimes. I have seen enough of these capacitor issues taking out boards.

yellow2007

I get the error code C1225 sporadically. No rhyme or reason and turning off and restarting clears it. This might be a good option if they're cheap enough to practice on and possibly use as a replacement.