2005 jeep grand cherokee left tail light not working

[rusty_jigawahowski]

i know this isnt a grand cherokee forum, but im an xj guy who lets his wife drive a wk, so i thought it would be worth a shot!

So to start, i HAVE checked every single fuse and all applicable relays and i HAVE googled this and found several people with the same issue but never posting a fix.

The left tail light on our '05 grand cherokee laredo does not come on. the brake light, turn signal, and reverse lights do work. everything on the right side works.

I've switched the left housing and the right housing and i have the exact same situation, left side is messed up, right side works. this leads me to believe that it is not the housing or the bulbs.

there is a red 10 amp fuse for the left parking lights and right parking lights, when i switch those fuses (that do not appear to be popped) the right side still works and the left side still does not. this leads me to believe that it is not the fuses.

so if it is not the fuses, the housing or the bulbs what in the world could it be?????? i have spent two hours on what i thought would take two minutes to replace a burnt out bulb. there has to be somebody else out there that has seen this issue. i really hate to have to take it to a dealership and have them tell that the wiring harness has to be replaced!

also just realized my drivers side headlight is burned out, however it does work when i turn the brights on. not sure if this makes a difference or not.

any suggestions or help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!

 

[Al S]

Not familiar with the vehicle, but I would check the pins on any electrical connector or socket for that bulb. Pins may be pushed out of position, causing an open circuit.

 

[gradon]

Is there a towing harness?

 

[rusty_jigawahowski]

there is a towing harness. ive tried with it plugged and unplugged. pins seem to be straight but i havnt put an actual volt meter on the plug harness yet, thats the next step i guess.

 

[Cottontail]

I don't have a solution, yet, but I can tell you that I am facing the same exact situation on my '04.

So, it isn't even model specific, since mine is a WJ and yours is a WK. Perhaps the faulty part is shared over multiple years.

Outside of finding time to go to a garage, I am not sure how to trouble shoot it anymore.

 

[Darky]

Try fixing the headlight. Who knows, maybe it's somehow connected to the tail.

 

[Cottontail]

Try fixing the headlight. Who knows, maybe it's somehow connected to the tail.

I can tell you my headlights work fine on dim or bright. The tail light issue isn't related for me.

 

[Shorty]

do the WJ and WK use the removable lamp sockets that hold the bulb and twist into the circuit board? If so, I know they fail regularly-- I run a retail parts store and the Chrysler socket is one of very few I keep on the shelf due to high failure rates of the originals.

 

[shelbyluvv]

My 04 does this too. I go out and smack the taillight and it comes on. I still have not figured out the problem.

 

[partsxj]

The 04 has a circuit board that goes bad. Replace the tail lamp assembly.

 

[Cottontail]

The 04 has a circuit board that goes bad. Replace the tail lamp assembly.

Can you be more specific? You mean the socket that the bulb goes into? Where is that circuit board that you talk about? If you just replace a tail lamp assembly and don't address the circuit board aren't you just asking for another failure?

 

[partsxj]

You can replace the sockets that the bulb goes into. The circuit board is part that the sockets go into. It is not a separate piece. If you buy a new lamp assembly and it does not come with the sockets, buy new ones. Part number 4676589. This is for 99-04 WJs. The 05 and up WKs you are on you own.

 

[knever3]

I have the same problem on my '06 GC. Left tail light running lights only. The bulbs look good but I haven't dug into it yet. Hopefully someone will post a solution before I waste my time!!

 

[brian_9804]

Hey, did anyone ever find the problem here? I've got the same thing happening and it just happened a few days before I leave on a 3500km road trip. I was thinking bad ground with the tail light or possible the trailer 7 point plug? its just all covered up so well I didn't have time to check it all out.

 

[shelbyluvv]

You have to tear apart the back of the light. There is a metal "circuit board" that has tiny connectors that break. Remove the tail light, open the back of it and you will see what I'm talking about. I just fixed both of my 04's tails and they should be similar.