No Tail lights- but brake lights work

2000 xj, no trailer wiring

Some one let me know my passenger tail light was out the other night, so i put in a new bulb. Still no tail light. I switched the bulb from the drivers side- which worked, to the pass. side- still no tail light. (the break lights are working.) I searched on here for info, with little success, so started checking fuses. I started with 7 and 28, and they're both good, and just for good measure i checked the rest- all good also. I'm the opposite of an electrical genius, but i still decided to start attempting some re-wiring. with my lack of electrical skills i managed to make the driver's side tail light stop working also- even when reconnected as it was.
With all this i figured i could start over, and got two wiring harness for the tail lights from the JY and still, no tail lights.
In my searches i was reading about the headlight switch going bad- could that be a possibility? or is it more likely somewhere in the wiring?
Also, I've had a turn signal issue since ive owned the xj- 4ish years- where it goes on but doesn't blink- maybe related? But the tail lights have been fine until the past week.
Its summer time here, and we've got 20+ hours of light, so its not a huge issue now, but i'd like to get it fixed before the sun starts to go away!
Sorry for the book, just trying to provide all the info i can! T
hanks in advance for the help!

Look at the socket for the bulb. It's probably dead meaning corroded and or having a bad connection.

magimerlin said:

Look at the socket for the bulb. It's probably dead meaning corroded and or having a bad connection.

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I'll give it another look, but it appeared alright when i first looked at it.

If that were the case, would the break light- which is the same bulb and same socket- still work?

Do you own or have access to a VOM (multimeter)?
Test the terminals in the bulb socket by checking both terminals to ground. Verify if there voltage on one terminal when the tail lights should be illuminated.
If there is voltage to one terminal... then you have a bad ground wire common to both tail lights.... which I believe is behind the spare tire panel.

I had the same thing but it was fuse No. 7

Thanks for the help. I'll give the grounds a look, they are all on the same screw right where you mentioned. And i'll give it a test with the multimeter- im still learning how to use it so it hasn't been much help so far...
Also, im heading to the JY to get a new headlight switch, see if that helps the situation.
Thanks again for the ideas!

GoodyAK said:

Thanks for the help. I'll give the grounds a look, they are all on the same screw right where you mentioned. And i'll give it a test with the multimeter- im still learning how to use it so it hasn't been much help so far...
Also, im heading to the JY to get a new headlight switch, see if that helps the situation.
Thanks again for the ideas!

Click to expand...

Good thought....; the headlight switch would be the next area to check.

FUSES! It was fuse 23.. after checking, double checking, and rechecking ALL of my fuses- I sat staring and pondering at the back of the jeep thinking- probably smoke coming from my ears- and the only thing that made sense(to my non-electrical mind) was the fuses, and sure enough, one more check, and there's one blown!

Now it keeps blowing, and after thinking it's fixed i got pulled over last night for the tail light being out! I get that it usually means its overloaded when the fuse keeps going, but
Any tips on why it might be overloaded?

Could be a bad bulb, socket or the wiring to the socket.
Start with the easy things first.
Since you don't have a VOM I won't try to explain how to use the metering place of the fuse.
Does this fuse also power up the parking lights?
Remove the tail light bulbs first and insert a new fuse; does the fuse blow?
If it doesn't then you have narrowed the problem to the bulbs, sockets or wiring to the socket.
Insert one bulb and see if the fuse blows.
This should get you started with troubleshooting the problem.

I've been putting this off for a while... my xj was parked for two years but now i've got it back!
I got pulled over a few weeks ago for the tail light..
So here is what I know so far:
The passenger side parking light and the passenger side tail light are both out. The bulbs are good.
Light sockets are good and corrosion free.
Grounds are good and solid.
Fuse 23 is out- when replaced the lights work, but only for a second before the fuse blows again.
Any help as to where to go would be great. Like i said in the first post, my electrical knowledge is just above zero.
Thanks!

At.this.point, I would obtain a wiring diagram from the fsm. Start at the.battery, and.chase it to the tail light

You have a short in the wireing. Something happened when you first tried to fix it. Most likely there was a broken wire causeing the light to not work & that wire is either touching ground or something got pinched to ground. Disconect the harness plug in the 1/4 panel feeding the tail lights then insert the fuse, if it doesn't blow short is in that harness. If it blows short may be in harness under floor mat on driver side between under dash & rear of Jeep. You have to start at what you tried to repair back to source. Brake lights & tail lights are seperate filiments in the bulb, only shared point between the two is the ground.