99 xj Back Hatch/ interior lights problem

So when i open my back hatch the interior lights never turned on and i always wondered why. I have had 4 xj's so far and they all never worked so i thought that was how they were made. last night i opened my back hatch and all the interior lights came on but really dim. So now i know they do work haha
My question is where is the switch for the back hatch that activates the lights and the door open sensor??? has anyone had this problem?? it would be nice to have lights when the back hatch opens haha

I had a similar problem on my 98, although the lights would not illuminate at all when the rear hatch was opened. I also did not get the hatch indicator light on the dash. Does yours work? I found out that my rear hatch mechanism had been replaced with a non-oem unit and they either did not re-install or broke the plunger electric switch that activates the lights and dash warning. To get to the rear latch mechanism, and the switch, lift the rear gate, remove the outer plastic cover and you should have access to the linkage, latch, and switch. I went down to the junkyard and found one out of a wrecked 97 Sport. I don't believe they even charged me for the mechanism. I pulled off the plunger switch, installed it on my existing latch, and plugged in the original connector. Lube your linkage if you feel so inclined and replace the rear plastic. That was almost a year ago and it works great.

yeah my rear hatch open light on the the cluster does light up but the interior lights dont. well they did intermittently but very dim. but when the all the other doors are open they light up fine sooo :dunno:

Our XJ does something similar. The power lock buttons don't lock the hatch. The gauge cluster hatch light doesn't work. The rear hatch dome light doesn't work. Ours, however is a reconstructed vehicle that had rear damage. I assume the lift gate was replaced and the wiring was just ignored. I haven't worried about it much.

I'm going to ask the really obvious and dumb question but here goes...
Have you tapped/pressed the light itself? It's got it's own internal switch. you can have it come on with the hatch or not, your choice. i don't mean to insult but ther are a few that just dont realize it's able to do that. sc

You know if it's dim sometimes then there might be some corrosion on the switch inside the light housing. That would screw with it.

XJ Eric said:

I'm going to ask the really obvious and dumb question but here goes...
Have you tapped/pressed the light itself? It's got it's own internal switch. you can have it come on with the hatch or not, your choice. i don't mean to insult but ther are a few that just dont realize it's able to do that. sc

You know if it's dim sometimes then there might be some corrosion on the switch inside the light housing. That would screw with it.

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no insult at all i did press that light and thats when it lights up very dim and then eventually turns back off. i will pull it off and check for corrosion. Thanks

XJ Eric said:

I'm going to ask the really obvious and dumb question but here goes...
Have you tapped/pressed the light itself? It's got it's own internal switch. you can have it come on with the hatch or not, your choice. i don't mean to insult but ther are a few that just dont realize it's able to do that. sc

Click to expand...

:banghead:

Now mine "suddenly" work. :roflmao: thanks for the tip