98 xj dome light

The only way my dome light will go on is if i use the headlight switch It does work however when I open the rear hatch,Door switch? seems weird that bo

th doors wouldnt operate it (2dr.) thoughts... suggestions?? thanks in advance...

Push your rear domb light in, it'll click, changes the way it works, first time I hit it with my head I did that, cost me 2 hours trying to figure out why the interior lights would not go off.... then my wife found it in my owners manual, only had the new XJ 2 days....

RenegadeStang said:

The "toggle switch" in the dome light only works with the rear hatch opening and closing. Must be something in the wiring of the door switches. Perhaps corrosion?

Click to expand...

On my 98 if I hit the rear dome light, hatch open and close the hatch the interior lights stay one. Weird feature but even weider if you don't know that 'button' in built into the light...

Had same problem in my '99 classic. I found that if I used the light switch in the back (built into the dome), sometimes the dome lights would stay on no matter what I did - doors open/closed/lightsoff/etc. It took me 2 trips to the dealer at no cost cause they didn't fix anything - had to argue that one for a while). Then while playing with it in the driveway, I noticed the domes would go out if I closed my back hatch 1/2 way or bounced on the back bumper. Found 2 bad connections - one at the dome light and one in the back hatch. Fixed connections and wango bango - problem went away.

Also - get some new bulbs in the domes - the old ones burn hotter and this is what caused my bad connection in the rear dome. Once I put in the new bulbs, they burn whiter and much cooler.

Good luck and let us know what you had to do to fix it!

not sure we have the same prob. my lights work only 2 ways, with the headlight switch(and by the waywhy do they have 2 clicks on the headlight switch? first one turns it on, and the second click i dunno ???)And the only other way the light works is with the rear light bump switch . Doors wont turn it on no matter what.Ive noticed there is a circuit board in the dome fixture i assume it is a auto fade dim on the light. I use led bulbs so heat isnt a factor. its just hard to belive that both door switches are bad .Thank you all. for what its worth the light will go on and off when opening and closing the rear hatch as long as the switch is in that mode

key buzzer works. thoughts?

That little circuit board is probably for your keyless entry so be careful with it. If you test your door switches, be careful - someone stripped the dirver's door switch threads before I bought it and when I went to test it, the switch literally fell out... the threads are very fragile.... good luck.