96 Jeep. Rear lamp failure.

On My 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Lerado The Info center keeps saying "Rear Lamp Failure" But I've check all of them and all the brake lights and signal lights and they all work. Anyone know what the problem is?

On My 96 Jeep Grand Cherokee Lerado The Info center keeps saying "Rear Lamp Failure" But I've check all of them and all the brake lights and signal lights and they all work. Anyone know what the problem is?

I think this is just one of this vehicle's quirks. I did a search and found this topic covered in the forum. I was searching because I just bought my first Jeep ever this week, a 95, and it's doing the same thing. :disappoin

If anyone knows how to make it STOP doing this, please let me know!

same here...

someone told me that it was grounded and that i should probably just open it up, take the bulb out and put it back in... will this work?

Also, do any of you have the problem about the info center also saying "coolant sensor bad?" I have had the coolant sensor replaced and it is working fine but the info center keeps saying that it is bad? Anyone know how to fix it?

As I recall Rear Lamp Failure refers to the brake lights only.
You only have to check the brake light bulbs.
Including the top ones.
Make 100% sure you have the right type of bulb in there.
Some have 2-filiments and some have one.
Also some of the locking pegs are 90º apart and some are offset.
Just because it works does not mean it is right.
Finally, check the socket make sure the tabs are not messed up.
Could be an intermittent connection due to bent contacts.

As I recall Rear Lamp Failure refers to the brake lights only.
You only have to check the brake light bulbs.
Including the top ones.
Make 100% sure you have the right type of bulb in there.
Some have 2-filiments and some have one.
Also some of the locking pegs are 90º apart and some are offset.
Just because it works does not mean it is right.
Finally, check the socket make sure the tabs are not messed up.
Could be an intermittent connection due to bent contacts.

Thanks for the tips! I'll check it out this week!

its probably not the break lights that are failing but your back-up lights. have a friend take a look at your rear lamps while you put the gear in reverse, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. my jeep has the same problem. Its that darn NSS (neutral safety switch) from your transmission. they tend to get dirty and if thats the case all you got to do is clean it here is how http://jeepin.com/features/nss/

Did you check the little side marker bulbs?

My 98 did the same thing. If all brake light are working properly look at the center stop lamp. Make sure they are all 922 bulbs, I found one that was not a 922 and it fixed the problem.

I appologize to anyone if they have already noted this.

to everyone in this thread who is having this problem, have someone hold the brakes while u check all the bulbs in the back, the Center "high mount" is where my problem was, there are 2-3 bulbs in it check to make sure each section is lit, also check the license plate bulbs make sure both of them are lit.

"I had the same problem when I got my jeep, I checked it out about 10 times never found anything, I held the brakes in while I had a friend check he said they were all good, put it in Reverse, he said they were all lit. so i was stumped, so that night I was at the store and had my girlfriend hold the brakes in while I check (b/c I got sick of that damnbeep and REAR LAMP FAILURE flashing on the VIC) well I found the culprit it was one of the High Mount stop light, yea thats right the on my friend said was good...lol

remember don't just glance at the bulbs to c if they are lit, go over them - each section, I think there are 2 bulbs in the High mount stop light, but some say there are three.

it is easier to check at NIGHT (when it is dark) - checkalll the bulbs REVERSE, BRAKE and PARKING, HIGH MOUNT BRAKE LIGHT "center", LICENSE PLATE.

In the 98 there are three. I just replaced all of them yesterday. They are bulb number 922.

OH MY GOD! I just joined this group and THANK YOU!!! My '96 GCL has been showing this warning since I bought it last year from a friend of mine. Everything I have read just told me to make sure that all the bulbs were working because there are more than one bulb, for example on the middle brake light. NO ONE mentioned the size of the bulb or the license plate lights as part of the problem. I will check it out ASAP!!!
THANKS

I had a 93' ZJ Laredo with that problem and if I recall correctly it was a short in the tow harness interface. Probably less likely, but something to consider if the bulbs don't fix it. Cheers.

Also, do any of you have the problem about the info center also saying "coolant sensor bad?" I have had the coolant sensor replaced and it is working fine but the info center keeps saying that it is bad? Anyone know how to fix it?

Hi - we have this same problem. Both the rear lamp failure message and the coolant sensor bad message.

We did everything advised in this thread with regard to checking bulbs, pulling out, reinserting, replacing, etc. and we still get the message.

We've not done anything with the coolant sensor - yet...

Is it possible it's a computer problem??

i had the same problem in my 95 5.2 the cheapest and quickest fix is to just simply buy all new light bulbs for the rear.Only about 15 bucks worth of new bulbs and my problem was fixed

Ok I know this topic is rather old ..but i have some information to share.


have a 93 Grand Cherokee limited,and i am posting this to those that have the two most common warnings comming up on the VIC display 93 to 95 models.
or possibly 96 thru 98 ...not sure of these years.
and would like to know how to shut these warnings sensors off, after you tried every thing else. to be ok..OK Im talking about the" BAD COOLANT SENSOR "
and the "REAR LAMP FAILURE ..that keeps comming to up on the vic display and wants to make you go out of your mind having to listen to all
that.
First off i will state that i am an electronic tech so when i started having these aggravating warnings in my vic display comming up for over the last year i
owned my GC...this problem was really getting tiresome ..Nope.. not the constant ringing of the display going off but.. after a year of listining to most passengers ..asking ..Got a problem? or.. Havn`t you Fixed that yet....and me having to explain it everytime.I felt like handing out pamplets explaning the problems ..after couple hundred times that got very old...i said to myself ..NO More!!
Note! What i discuss here is after the obvious things were checked for what the sensors were designed to do...then you say to yourself .."What do i do next"?

First is the Bad Coolant Sensor reading...Actual sensor for this lies in the coolant Reservoir located under the hood passenger side...OK Now..on top of the plastic see thru coolent bottle is a cap with 2 wires plugged into this sensor sometimes goes intermitten as in my case. ..I put an ohmmeter on it ..which read 3.2k ohm ..which is the proper reading on a good sensor with the coolant level at proper fillage ..when coolent is low this reading goes to "0 ohms" no reading which sends a message to the vic that
the "COOLANT LEVEL IS LOW"...The same sensor if it reads infinity or above the proper 3.3k will send a reading to the Vic" Bad Coolant Sensor". This is how that works.
While i was reading the normal 3.3k on my ohmmeter ..i then tapped on the top of this sensor with a screwdriver and it momentarily read infinity causing the error reading.

Instead of ordering a new sensor because i am CHEAP..i pulled the wire plug from the sensor and pushed each led of a 3.2k resistor into each side of the wired plug.
Then wrapped some tape around it. Problem solved

Naturally the right thing to do is order a new sensor for your Coolant Reservoir.
Other problems would be ringed solder connections on the plug sockets in the Vic itself. I did pull my Vic Display out and found a couple of ringed connections on the plugs and resolded but i dont believe this was giving me any problems at the time.

Well i got to admit i was very happy driving without hearing that warning sound anymore I thought i had a new car...Then about a month later ..yes...the Rear outage Lamp module went off. I had this same problem a month after i just bought this jeep .It all started because my wife kept slamming the rear gate to hard due to faulty Hydraulic shocks on the tail gate..this slamming caused the 3rd Brake light to blow a couple of times due to excessive shock ..i eventually replaced the shocks and my wife to fix the problem.
Now 3 years later i got this message back.
All lamps in my rear gate were changed with oem bulbs due to current ratings. ..same problem ..i thought maybe my lamp outage module may be bad ..so i started checking it with my meter....ok to make a long story short this module works off of checking current in the rear lamps ...inside the module is an ic which detects the current and the output of the ic is a switching bias to a transistor which is used as a switch which sends the reading from their to the vic display. when the current reading of this ic is offset it then outputs to this transistor with a collector voltage of 6 volts that goes to the Vic Display. This transistor when biased by an error comming from the ic current data.. reads Zero volts.
So high is good low is bad.....
Ok Ok ...i talk to much....heres the FIX...or i should say my work arround but be warned...this is not a actual fix as it defeats the factory`s sensor for displaying bad lamps in the rear... but will stop the warning indicator in the vic.::)
The "lamp outage module" is located on the side inside rear cargo fender well...where the spare tire is mounted ...you will see a cover ..remove this cover from the inside rear fender area .. inside is the manual gas cover release cable also. Now inside this hole pull out the square looking lamp outage module ...it will come out far enough with
The cables attached.."Two seperate plugs plugged into it. first make sure your head light switch is not on...next unclip and unplug the .two plugs on top of the module..pull the plastic cover off then pull the module completely from the case ..you can grab a corner with a small screwdriver
and just lift one end up and it comes right out..."You want to see the component side of this module"....Now in the corner their will be just one transistor with a board location called T1 ...the point here is to remove this transistor from this board so the 6 volts will stay constant on the Vic display. You could clip the leds or unsolder it ..this transistor has 3 legs....Thats all ...except to reverse assemly :}
The right Fix could be a number of things ...bad lamp outage module ...bad bulbs or wrong current ratings ....burnt or charred wirring or sockets...that upsets a specified current .

Now i know my way of fixing these problems are not the factory specified way...but it is my way....Good Luck!

Ok I know this topic is rather old ..but i have some information to share.

Wow, Someone finally found out how to fix it. Too bad you were not a little sooner. I already got a new jeep.:grinyes:

Ok I know this topic is rather old ..but i have some information to share.


have a 93 Grand Cherokee limited,and i am posting this to those that have the two most common warnings comming up on the VIC display 93 to 95 models.
or possibly 96 thru 98 ...not sure of these years.
and would like to know how to shut these warnings sensors off, after you tried every thing else. to be ok..OK Im talking about the" BAD COOLANT SENSOR "
and the "REAR LAMP FAILURE ..that keeps comming to up on the vic display and wants to make you go out of your mind having to listen to all
that.
First off i will state that i am an electronic tech so when i started having these aggravating warnings in my vic display comming up for over the last year i
owned my GC...this problem was really getting tiresome ..Nope.. not the constant ringing of the display going off but.. after a year of listining to most passengers ..asking ..Got a problem? or.. Havn`t you Fixed that yet....and me having to explain it everytime.I felt like handing out pamplets explaning the problems ..after couple hundred times that got very old...i said to myself ..NO More!!
Note! What i discuss here is after the obvious things were checked for what the sensors were designed to do...then you say to yourself .."What do i do next"?

First is the Bad Coolant Sensor reading...Actual sensor for this lies in the coolant Reservoir located under the hood passenger side...OK Now..on top of the plastic see thru coolent bottle is a cap with 2 wires plugged into this sensor sometimes goes intermitten as in my case. ..I put an ohmmeter on it ..which read 3.2k ohm ..which is the proper reading on a good sensor with the coolant level at proper fillage ..when coolent is low this reading goes to "0 ohms" no reading which sends a message to the vic that
the "COOLANT LEVEL IS LOW"...The same sensor if it reads infinity or above the proper 3.3k will send a reading to the Vic" Bad Coolant Sensor". This is how that works.
While i was reading the normal 3.3k on my ohmmeter ..i then tapped on the top of this sensor with a screwdriver and it momentarily read infinity causing the error reading.

Instead of ordering a new sensor because i am CHEAP..i pulled the wire plug from the sensor and pushed each led of a 3.2k resistor into each side of the wired plug.
Then wrapped some tape around it. Problem solved

Naturally the right thing to do is order a new sensor for your Coolant Reservoir.
Other problems would be ringed solder connections on the plug sockets in the Vic itself. I did pull my Vic Display out and found a couple of ringed connections on the plugs and resolded but i dont believe this was giving me any problems at the time.

Well i got to admit i was very happy driving without hearing that warning sound anymore I thought i had a new car...Then about a month later ..yes...the Rear outage Lamp module went off. I had this same problem a month after i just bought this jeep .It all started because my wife kept slamming the rear gate to hard due to faulty Hydraulic shocks on the tail gate..this slamming caused the 3rd Brake light to blow a couple of times due to excessive shock ..i eventually replaced the shocks and my wife to fix the problem.
Now 3 years later i got this message back.
All lamps in my rear gate were changed with oem bulbs due to current ratings. ..same problem ..i thought maybe my lamp outage module may be bad ..so i started checking it with my meter....ok to make a long story short this module works off of checking current in the rear lamps ...inside the module is an ic which detects the current and the output of the ic is a switching bias to a transistor which is used as a switch which sends the reading from their to the vic display. when the current reading of this ic is offset it then outputs to this transistor with a collector voltage of 6 volts that goes to the Vic Display. This transistor when biased by an error comming from the ic current data.. reads Zero volts.
So high is good low is bad.....
Ok Ok ...i talk to much....heres the FIX...or i should say my work arround but be warned...this is not a actual fix as it defeats the factory`s sensor for displaying bad lamps in the rear... but will stop the warning indicator in the vic.::)
The "lamp outage module" is located on the side inside rear cargo fender well...where the spare tire is mounted ...you will see a cover ..remove this cover from the inside rear fender area .. inside is the manual gas cover release cable also. Now inside this hole pull out the square looking lamp outage module ...it will come out far enough with
The cables attached.."Two seperate plugs plugged into it. first make sure your head light switch is not on...next unclip and unplug the .two plugs on top of the module..pull the plastic cover off then pull the module completely from the case ..you can grab a corner with a small screwdriver
and just lift one end up and it comes right out..."You want to see the component side of this module"....Now in the corner their will be just one transistor with a board location called T1 ...the point here is to remove this transistor from this board so the 6 volts will stay constant on the Vic display. You could clip the leds or unsolder it ..this transistor has 3 legs....Thats all ...except to reverse assemly :}
The right Fix could be a number of things ...bad lamp outage module ...bad bulbs or wrong current ratings ....burnt or charred wirring or sockets...that upsets a specified current .

Now i know my way of fixing these problems are not the factory specified way...but it is my way....Good Luck!


REAR LAMP FAILURE:

Did you check the front side marker bulbs, the front side markers are part of the rear lighting and if 1 of them are blown you will also get this message. Along with the brake lights, tail lights, reverse lights, license plate lamps.