License plate lights not working on my 1995 jeep grand cherokee laredo, checked bulbs to see if they are fine and they are, 3rd brake light works fine too

SOURCE: No Brake lights 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited

Jeep Grand Cherokees are famous for this problem. Tell me about it, I have had 3 (2001, 2004, 2006). The connections on these vehicles are not of the best quality. I have not had to deal with '06, but '01 and '04 were constantly going out.

There are two main causes (you can change the bulbs as many times as you like and they will only last a couple of weeks, with luck more than that). Check the end of the cables that connect to the brake lights, sometimes they tend to "burn" and short, and need to be changed. The most common cause is the contacts of the bulb holder to the light housing assembly, they tend to wear and/or get really dirty, these you can buy very inexpensive from your local Mopar parts dealer.

Since you have a problem with the 3rd brake light also, I would be more inclined to check the wiring.

SOURCE: I have a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo - One Brake Light

First, I want to say thank you for the info, you saved me money and aggravation. Second it took mea little while to figure out what contact I was looking for. So I would like to provide a little more detail to make it easier for others in the future.
This is the corrective method for your brake lights not working when your headlights are on(2000 Jeep Cherokee Larado).
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

SOURCE: no power to tail lights or license plate light.

check the fuse with a test light on both sides of the fuse,
next would be the headlight switch.

ZJ Limited

• 17989 Answers
• Posted on Jan 15, 2010

SOURCE: 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo - message center

This is a problem I have been seeing more and more of lately. The brake light circuit goes through the Lamp Outage Module (LOM). When the LOM senses a inoperative lamp, the Vehicle Information Center (VIC) displays the data to the vehicle operator.

Here is how to test the system (clic for zoom):



Check here for more details about the location of Lamp Outage Module (page 16).

Hope helps (remember rated this help) Good luck.

SOURCE: 2000 Grand Jeep Cherokee Laredo both brake lights

try replacing the sockets in the tailights/brake lights. worked for me. $10 each. i had to replace all of mine because just replacing the brake sockets didn't solve the problem on the right side. you can test it by exchanging tail light for brake light socket and if that works you know it is the socket