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03 JGC Interior lights flickering draining battery

3K views 17 replies 2 participants last post by  Frango100 
#1 ·
ANYONE PLEASE HELP !!! I've got a 2003 Grand Cherokee Laredo everytime I get in it I have no overhead console lights only floor lights.
When it's running,and driving the floor lights stay lit and flicker...the over head console lights if pressed on will turn on be dim,and flicker as well.
I have tried everything.Checking switches,and wiring,and everything inbetween.
When I turn off the jeep I hear a noise in the back gate like a low sounding clicking noise over and over again.
And it seems to be the the flickering stated above is in rhythm to the clicking in the rear.

Any ideas on what this could be ??

Any help would be great !!!

Thanks !!!
 
#2 ·
Welcome to the garage.
Never heard of a similar problem. Does the noise change when you lock or unlock the doors? (Just to see if the liftgate power lock motor can have anything to do with it).
The interior lights are switched via the BCM. Maybe worth checking the connectors on the BCM for corrosion or moisture. Also try a battery disconnect for some minutes. The BCM can have a problem which can reset with a battery disconnect.
 
#3 ·
I have not done that to the battery...the battery has died every day for the last week because of the rear clicking noise...and it's continuous.
I took out the over head console light fuse and that seemed to do the trick.
But what would that have to do with the rear clicking noise ??
 
#4 · (Edited)
Did you try to pinpoint where the noise exactly comes from? Does the liftgate lock/unlock normally? Im in the bus now, but can have a look into the wiring schematic to see what the fuse is feeding when back home. Can you tell me the exact fuse number? The noise is not coming from the rear speakers for example? A bad amplifier can drain the battery.
 
#5 ·
I did the battery disconnect reconnect - no dice...and yes the clicking noise is present when car is locked.
I'm pretty sure it's coming from the rear wiper.I climbed back back there and listened even felt around where the rear hatch glass locks - no vibration or noise from that.The button to open the hatch glass wont open it anyway...everytimne I press it nothing happens.
I'm going to pinpoint my problem to the rear wiper motor....but then again I removed that fuse yesterday and the 'flashing of the lights' still occurred.
But it's definitely something in the area of the rear wiper and glass hatch latch.Something is cycling over and over again.
 
#6 · (Edited)
So did you remove fuse 8 from the junction block? At least this fuse is used for the overhead lights and the flipper glas solenoid. But also for the rear wiper motor. I would disconnect the rear wiper motor connector and see if the flickering of the lights stops. The wiper motor has some electronics build into it, so there could be something wrong in there.
Does the flickering also happen when the engine is off? This could well be a problem with the alternator/rectifier.
 
#8 ·
You should disconnect the wiper motor connector and put the fuse back in place and see if the flickering stops.
 
#10 ·
Since you mentioned that the flickering accompanies the noise in the back, it most probably is caused by the wiper motor.
You will have to remove the trim panel to get access to the wiper motor. On attached picture you can see how the internals of the liftgate looks like and can see the wiper motor on there.
 

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#12 ·
Only if the rear wiper motor switch on the right switch stalk is still in on, there will be power on the wiper motor controller, even with the fuse #8 out. Did you check that its in off? Eventually a faulty switch stalk could be the problem.
Besides this, i can only think about the lift gate power lock motor, which sits not that far away from the wiper motor. But as soon as you have removed the trim panel, you should be able to see where the clicking sound comes from.
 
#14 ·
So only the floor mounted lights come on when opening any of the doors? They use a separate driver in the BCM. The overhead lights use an other driver. So or there is a problem with this driver, or a problem with the wiring to the driver. You will need to measure the wiring to the BCM if you want to know where the problem is.
 
#16 ·
Do the overhead lights come on if you turn the dim control on the left switch stalk to max? By pressing the light fixture, an other wire and an other driver in the BCM will be used.
In attached manual page you can see which wires to measure. The closed contacts in the light fixtures is for switching the lights via the BCM when opening a door. Switching it over for manual light control.
 

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#18 ·
So i would check the wire from the light fixture to the junction block (JB) connector C1 for continuity. There is a short connection from the JB to the BCM, which is back to back connected to the JB. If the wire is ok, i would suspect the driver in the BCM.
 
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