1994 jeep cherokee rear dome light problem

each door has a switch. Cherokee. XJ. Gas not diesel, USA not export or police car.
test the switch that fails.
there are 2 ways.
any DMM on slow resistance ohms scale, called "continuity check"
or use live voltage checks.
many cars , the door closes and the voltage goes to 0volts.
alldata.com and the FSM show what to do, just read the book step by step.

seems the wiring to front dome is failing.
to find that use a schematic,.
this makes finding any electrical problem easy.
alldata. com and the FSM have that.

try here.
for free, posted 100s of times now. here.

http://www.jeep4x4center.com/knowledge-base/index.htm?utm_source=cj#service

all answer, USA , non export models. and never ever stated here by any poster. ever. 1` in 10,000?
click wiring
click PDF page.
233 the lamp page
as you can see the 2 lamps get power from the same fuse.
so that path is not bad.
as you can see only 1 lamp has a local ground (manual) switch.
all other lamps are in parallel and must all work in unison.
id say pin B is broken to lamp. sure would.

page 236 shows the lift gate switch and sure a heck, is 0v
closed, and yours works a, you said the other lamp works via this hatch. switch.
so the problem is above the lamp or any wire to pin B bad.

that switch is inside the door on the left side of the bottom latch assembly on the left (passenger side) it's round and has one wire coming from it.
Providing we are talking about the rear hatch door.

The back hatch has a switch that is supposed to be turned off when the hatch is closed. The switch could be stuck or the hatch not hitting it right. You could just take the bulb out.

well first check all fuse make sure builbs are good this jeep has bcm on the back fuse panel they are very commen to have issue you can try to see if local shop can reprogram this or it may be bad hope this helps

Sounds like a dead short to me. You will need to find a wiring diagram for this one. Without it, I'd start by unpluging the motor and the light one at a time. Another good place to check is at the rear hatch, where the wiring harness enters the hatch, this is a common area for broken/shorted wires.Check that and let me know, I'll help how I can.
Good luck

I couldn't get my inside lights to go out at all which drained the battery. I ended up taking out the fuse. It works but I have no inside lights (dome, etc) now.

Look for a button like thing sticking out of frame where door closes, or even on door frame for same. May even look like a wedge shaped black button, spring loaded, try moving it to see. That will be your switch that turns on the light when open.

If it has automatic or a domelight that stays on for a while after you shut the door is on a timer relay and that is probably getting bad. As far as the door ajar message there is a switch in the door jam, look and see if you see it. Take wd40 and try to soak the switch try to get it inside the switch.If its incorporated in the door latch spray back inside the door latch real good. Open and close the door several times and see if it works then.

1st u have to take off the rear stop light & clean the jackfish after put it back 7 FOR TH E INSIDE LIGHT press the light before u open the door & contact me on [email protected] coz i have the same jeep & it was the same problem

have you tried manually unlocking the hatch to reset the security
system?? My 94 grand cherokee limited did not have a key pad to turn system on/off...i have reset it by turning the key in the rear hatch lock to the left twice...see if this works. - SmokeWrench