25th Oct 2010, 10:14

I've obviously had the same issues mentioned in all of these posts. My problem with the brake lights now is that even after replacing both tail light units altogether (bending the contacts up did not work for me for some reason), I still don't have brake lights. Before replacing the units themselves, I had no tail lights whatsoever. Now I at least have tail lights. Still no brake lights, though.

Any suggestions? Fuse? Wiring?

Thanks.

8th Nov 2010, 13:47

All.

My 99 JGCL left turn signal does not work. I have replaced the bulbs. When I turn the right signal, it works and shows this on the dash board. When I make a left turn, the signal does not show up on the dash board. Every once in a while, it does work. Any clues?

Thanks, Jim.

15th Dec 2010, 11:40

I have a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo and have all the same problems. Had several electrical problems.

I replaced the power door lock after getting a grinding noise. Had the brake light problems that no one could figure out. Replaced bulbs, replaced brake light switch, etc. Was told to replace both rear light assembly (2 x $170).

But after reading all the comments on the website, I adjusted the ground connections, now the brake lights work fine!

17th Jan 2011, 16:28

POSSIBLE SOLUTION:

Before replacing your tail light lens fixture, take the lights completely off by disconnecting the wires all the way from the backing of the lens (where the sockets are).

Try your plugging your lights in, one at a time, to isolate the short.

25th May 2011, 19:40

Rear hatch actuator won't lock with remote or locking with door panel, but it locks with the rest of the doors when the vehicle is in drive. Right tail brake light was flickering, then left one went out. I have replaced the plugs for both and the bulbs, but now it seem these it a ground issue. Right tail lamp is hitting at 6 ohms and left one is at 18 ohms, so there has to be some kind of a short somewhere. Before I replaced the plugs, I didn't have much of an issue with the right one, it just flickered once in a while. Now when I put on the brakes, the running tail light shuts off and there is no brake light. That didn't happen before the new bulbs and plug, which I replaced out of good measure since the other one was acting up.

I have put a lot of $$$$$$$$$$$$ into this beast, of which I'm sure I will never get back if I sell it. I need some suggestions here, as I think the rear actuator malfunction and the rear lights are at some point connected to the same wiring problem, maybe a module of some kind?

1st Jun 2011, 14:44

I have a 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I have the tail light problems that many people have. I have spent lots of money trying to keep them fixed. I have replaced the tail light assemblies twice, and replaced all the sockets and bulbs numerous times. I have paid many mechanics,including Jeep dealership, they will work for a little while and stop again. If anyone knows what will actually fix this problem, PLEASE, PLEASE LET ME NOW. I have called Jeep and they won't do anything to help. Please email me any info you might have, I'm desperate.mrsstrick47@yahoo.com

11th Sep 2011, 11:58

Last night the tail lights on my 2002 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo completely stopped working with the headlights turned on. The brake lights don't work either, unless the headlights are off, then they work fine.

This started as the same problem with one brake light being out when the brakes were applied (this was temporarily resolved by using the methods on this site, but it would always wind up going back out)... now no tail lights whatsoever??

I have a feeling it's an electrical glitch. Once in a while, completely randomly, my blinkers will stop working for like a day... I let it sit for a while, and then they're fine again the next time I turn it on.

My oil pressure gauge is all the way as high as it can go, and has been this way since I purchased the vehicle.

This is very frustrating... I have this vehicle leased, and can't afford to try all sorts of things that may or may not work, to try to fix the tail light problem... just sharing my story.

4th Oct 2011, 12:46

Thank you so much for the easy fix of the brake light! Worked like a charm, and I did it in less than 5 minutes.

12th Oct 2011, 17:19

I have the same problem. What did you have to do to fix this? And what was the cost? You can call me at 9043046098 or email me at nf8116@gmail.com. You can call anytime. Thank you, and please help if you can.

22nd Nov 2011, 20:45

I own a 1999 Grand Cherokee, and I get a lot of my troubleshooting information from sites like this one.

Most recently, I could not find any accurate or satisfactory answers to the tail light / license plate light / parking light fuse and bulb blowing problem, that I, like many others, had experienced.

A few days ago, I had a day off to just experiment, and here is what I learned. My problems are now fixed, by the way.

Problem: I kept replacing tail light and license plate bulbs and fuses (15 amp number 6 fuse on fuse block). Sometimes, the problem would appear to have fixed itself for days, but then, without warning, I would suddenly have no tail lights or license plate lights. Sometimes, the bulbs were blown, but most often, it was the 15 amp parking light fuse that I had to replace. On bad days, I might have to do this twice or three times. I was advised by a dealership to replace the tail light units and even the wiring harness, but in the end, the fix cost me almost nothing, and I did everything in my driveway.

1) I removed headlight/parking light units, tail light units, and two license plate light units and tested them, but all units were fine.

2) I bought a 25-count box of 15 amp fuses for the purpose of testing, then began turning on the parking lights with only certain light bulbs inserted. First front parking, then tail lights, then license lights, then combining them in that order. No matter which light bulbs were present, they blew the fuse almost immediately each time, but I noticed that if I just backed off and never touched the car at all, they tended to work fine. Any movement of the car would blow the fuse. (E.g. opening or closing a door or sitting down in a seat--even rocking the vehicle.)

3) I removed enough of the lighting units and interior panels to make the wiring harnesses accessible. Then, I repeated my testing, wiggling the harnesses one at a time, hoping to find a short somewhere. Nothing changed, but quite without intention, I moved the open liftgate downwards to get a better view of the two license plate bulbs. The fuse promptly blew.

4) I replaced the fuse, got the lights all working, and moved the liftgate ever so gently. The fuse blew.

5) I removed the interior panel from the liftgate, along with the well-glued rubber weather panel. This exposed the wiring harness within the liftgate itself.

6) I repeated step 4, this time moving only the wiring harness inside the liftgate. The fuse blew.

7) I detached the clips holding the wiring harness to the liftgate body and ran my fingers along the wiring harness, and sure enough, directly even with the electric lock actuator housing, I discovered a bare wire with its insulation worn or cut away. The actuator housing is sharp-edged, and the wiring harness was installed (from the factory) pressing tightly against one sharp edge. After over a decade of rubbing, the insulation had been penetrated, and bare wire was against the metal (grounded) housing. When the liftgate was moved, even ever so gently, or when the vehicle hit a bump or turned a corner or was rocked, the wiring harness would short out against the metal liftgate lock actuator housing and blow the fuse.

8) I re-routed the liftgate wiring harness slightly to prevent a recurrence, then wrapped the wire well with electrical tape to keep it from touching anything else ever again.

9) At this point, I replaced the fuse and tried everything I could think of to make it blow again, but it was solid as a rock.

10) I put everything back together, using auto weatherstrip adhesive to stick the weather panel back to the liftgate interior prior to replacing the interior panel.

Since fixing the problem, I have not experienced any further similar lighting issues. I'm guessing this may be one of several poorly routed wiring harness spots that end up shorting out lighting and other electrical components. I'd be interested to know if this solves anyone else's similar problems. Keep in mind that the harness may be rubbing against some other frame or body component elsewhere, not just in the liftgate, but that's a good starting place for investigation.

Good luck, and have fun with all your Grand Cherokee troubleshooting endeavors!

Mike.

26th Aug 2012, 16:49

Pull hard straight out on the lens. I just changed one a few days ago, and it took a good tug, then came out.

22nd May 2016, 09:34

I replace the tail light at junk yard for 35$. A bezel inside the tail light goes bad. My third Jeep. JustEmptyEveryPocket I heard... a bad main body ground is always at the start.