No tail lights, all fuses good and replaced bulbs, have R lights,brake,turn ect.

Asked by Scott Aug 26, 2012 at 01:52 AM about the 2000 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

just have no tail lights and fuses checked out.

34 Answers

770

Hey, just saw your problem, having the same problems here, swapped out lights and sockets. Brake lights work sometimes, then when headlights are on, step on the brakes and they all go out! If you've found any help please let me know, Txguy in maryland

62 people found this helpful.
19,835

The problem is the tail lamp assm. itself. Ive seen several of these.....

96 people found this helpful.
210

Having similar issues I replaced the back up light and the turn signal bulb but they still dont work. Head lights work rear pass turn signal light works, and break lights work. I think its eletrical I found some connections under the bench seat behind the driver seat that there were two wires not connected to anything. and the left turn signal light is always on on the dash. Think i should replace the fuses or something else> I have a 95 jeep grand charokee larado that was not properly taken care of by the previous owner. He did say though that the clicker for the left turn signal had been replaced before. mike

21 people found this helpful.
1,440

Its the heat from the bulb. Badly designed rear light assembly. Bulb melts plastic around points. You can try (A) solution which might only be temporary, or (B) buy a new, improvedrear light assembly for around $40. (A) 1) The cause of the problem is heat from the bulb. 2) Remove the light assembly as if you were going to change a bulb. 3) Turn the socket and remove it from the taillight assembly and set it aside(check to be sure your bulb is not burnt out). 4) Look at the opening, you will see 3 flat chrome colored contacts on the assembly. 5) Notice the one by it self at the top of the opening, that is the “ground”. 6) If you look closely you will notice the plastic around the ground contact has shrunk a little bit, this caused the contact to pull away from the socket, causing the problem. 7) With a small flat head screwdriver, VERY GENTLY pry up the contact so it stays slightly upward by itself. 8) Re-insert the bulb assembly back into the housing and press your brake petal with your lights on. 9) You should be in good to go! 10) Tools: Phillips head screwdriver and a small flat head screwdriver. 11) Time : 5 minutes per light (B) http://www.amazon.com/TYC-11-5276-00-Cherokee-Replacement- Assembly/dp/B0031I3TNI/ref=lh_ni_t_mi? ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=AHIM67Z9GO6HA

144 people found this helpful.
120

similar problems.... I am going to change the brake light switch.

12 people found this helpful.
100

I changed bulbs in left tail light of a 2000grand Cherokee the blinker doesn't work

10 people found this helpful.
200

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee rear turn signal not working sometimes, if it's warmer our (50 degrees or higher it usually works. I've changed the bulbs. This little issue is keeping me from getting a legal inspection. HELP!

20 people found this helpful.
90

i just used did a continuity check and my break light switch was bad

9 people found this helpful.
355

Drivers side rear brake light does not work when the headlights are on. Did some checking and didn't see anything wrong in the light assembly itself. Started playing around and found out that when the light switch assembly(on column) is positioned to the AUTO position, the break lights work properly, Still have to make sure the headlights come on in that position. Will follow up with more when I find out.

18 people found this helpful.
170

My 2004 grand cherokee is acting all sorts of crazy im really convinced that its always had some sort of electrical issue somewhere that hasnt been found yet. The current issue im battling is a brake light. tail lights work but not brake one side or the other intermittently. I started on drivers side (passenger still worked) changed all the bulb and 2 of the connectors worked for a week then when it stopped again I dropped it at mechanic because i was too frustrated. He changed the circuit board in light and its been great for 6months. Passenger side just did the same thing so i started at the beginning with a bulb put it in hit the break to test ANDDDDDD the drivers went back to square one lololol WHYYY Now i dont want to change all that other stuff because was that even the issue if the drivers side is doing it again? all I found in fuses was a blown BCM #26 I believe im sure that will be another can of worms I went and picked up some wire brushes and when i was taking the lights off again to clean everything they are working again but blew i a bulb that I just put in yesterday. Is this happening to anyone else? Im not sure WHY it never dawned on me that every issue this jeep has had could most definatley be traced back to an electrical issue or short? Ground?! The brake lights are only a fraction of my problems! Would be good to know what others have done to fix similar issues.

17 people found this helpful.
355

I am \ convinced that it is "SOME SORT OF GROUNDING PROBLEM. I did find out that putting the switch into the AUTO position does not solve the problem. It actually worked at one point during the day when I tried it. However, In the AUTO position (during the day time) the lights are still not on. I tried it after it became dark and the light did come on, which presented the same problem with the brake light again. I talked to some others and the problems seems to be associated with the circuit board, All I talked to mentioned that when they changed it, the problem went away for a while. Still doesn't solve the problem, but it does remedy it temporarily. MY next step is to get an Electrical Schematic for the car and do some research on it.

10 people found this helpful.
370

Ron’s suggestion worked for us. See above. We gently pried up the chrome ground contact a little, replaced the bulb assembly and the brake lights now work when the headlights are on. There were no signs of melted plastic or heat stress or corrosion but we tried it out of desperation. Only needed to pry it up about 1-2mm. Used the tip of a utility knife blade. So it was a grounding issue afterall and we got lucky that we didn’t have to hunt for shorts. Thanks Ron!

26 people found this helpful.
370

This was for a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee.

11 people found this helpful.
80

I have the 2001 and i am having a similar issue with my left rear tail light which doesn't come on with the headlights, the right side works! the turn signals and hazard lights relay i find is unable to be replaced due to its location. It appears that the original relay was never changed and welded itself to the relay box causing me huge headaches any suggestions?

8 people found this helpful.
90

i had that similar tail light issue ,its one of the vrand cherokee hiccups. but here is my fix . i had two problems really , ghe design of ghe tail light is such that tbe plastic that support tbe bulb assembly over time becomes twisted from the heat. and the metal contacts dont connect with the bulb assembly any longer .u will need three thin pieces of wire abt 4 inches llng peeled on both ends, and a soldering iron with solder wire. remove the tai lights nd take out the bulb assembly, (the first one).solder one end of each wire to the metal contacts on the bulb assembly ant the other end to the metal contacts in the tail lights in the same pattern. two on one side and one on the other. Reassemble the tail lights

9 people found this helpful.
40

Yup. Ron's suggestion was spot on. My girlfriend's daughter has had this issue looked at three times and each time it resulted in a short-term fix. I followed Ron's advice but after I had raised the contact I slid a short section of a black zip tie beneath the tab to keep it raised. Yes, it will no doubt melt as well eventually but hopefully even then it will continue to fill the void beneath the contact enough that the problem will not continue to recur.

4 people found this helpful.
30

On my patriot my tail lights dont work but my blinkers do tried the multifunction switch fuses bulbs could the socket it’s self be the problem

3 people found this helpful.
110

Ron hit the nail on the head. Brake light would not work with taillights on. Shimmed up single ground tab in socket in taillight assy. Working now! Thanks, Ron.

11 people found this helpful.
70

My BF's 99 Cherokee dash, running & tail lights stopped working after having a trailer hooked up to it. We've replaced the fuses, bulb & tried Ron's taillight assembly fix to no avail. Any suggestions?

7 people found this helpful.
85

I'm having a different problem. Car off or on with headlights off, step on the brakes and no brake lights come on. However, if you turn on the headlights, ALL the brake lights come on, without stepping on the brake pedal.

8 people found this helpful.
355

Ron's answer is a correct one. I did it onm Jeep and haven't had a problem since then. Dave P

7 people found this helpful.
10

I have a 1982 Oldsmobile Delta headache headlights brake lights turn signals no tail lights I change all the fuses and if they still do not come on

1 people found this helpful.
60

Pay close attention to Ron's 11 step fix above. I tried several other ways to fix it but this was the one that worked. THANKS RON. It might be necessary to buy a tail light circuit board if yours is too fried -- they about $20 on line. Good luck.

6 people found this helpful.
30

The brake light assembly on the Jeep Grand Cherokee is defectively designed. I found that there is a moisture problem (the seal on the assembly is not sufficient) which causes the bulbs to blow. This problem has been reported on many posts. There really should be a recall as it is a safety issue.

3 people found this helpful.
90

I have a 1999 Jeep grand Cherokee and my taillights or brake lights neither work I've replaced bulbs check the connection and replaced the circuit board as well and still nothing I'm thinking now it could be a wiring issues so now I'm trying to figure out the wiring diagram to my taillights and brakes lights ...any suggestions out there I'm really needing help on this !!! I have had to glue led lights in my taillights and put on a switched to use...

9 people found this helpful.
20

Ron's 11 step system fixed the problem. Way to go Ron.

2 people found this helpful.
40

Ok similar problem with driver side stop/running light. My blinker and reverse light work but not that top stop/running light. I've replaced bulb, socket and the whole taillight lense cover do hicky. Ive even replaced the stoplight switch by the brake pedal (the old one looked bad and i thought for sure i fixed it) but that didn't work. Is there any other viable explanation other than bad wiring? I've tried Rons fix too with no results.

4 people found this helpful.
20

If the ground is the issue, how does either the brake or tail light ever work? There is only one ground that seems to be in the tail light socket. I noticed that the brake light contact is grounded when no brake is applied, but switches to 12V when brakes are applied. Does the brake switch toggle between ground and power?

2 people found this helpful.
30

2000 Jeep Cherokee XJ Find the connectors inside the rear quarters that connect to the tail lights. Mine were both corroded terribly. Bypassed the connector and they work like a champ.

3 people found this helpful.
40

@Ron... No rear taillights/turn lights/back up lights..all went at the same time. Checked Fuses and bulbs and all good... Saw Ron's suggestion of checking bulbs contacts and wouldn't you know it they all OVERHEATED and lost their connection. I took a heat gun and after a few seconds was very easy to pry bulb contacts up. A quick sand on everything to remove rust and ALL IS WORKING AGAIN! So Happy! Thank Ron!

4 people found this helpful.
30

My 02 grand Cherokee has this problem replace the whole tail light assembly and still nothing. Help!!

3 people found this helpful.

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