I just got my Jeep back up and running again. There are a few problems with it that I am not sure how to handle. First is the trunk seems jammed and I cannot get it open. I had a guy come in and try to un jam it but he could not do it. He was able to get the glass door on the truck to open but not the trunk itself. We went inside the back, unscrewed the panel from the inside, used some wire to try to yank the latch open but it would not budge. I have a feeling this is leading into my next problem which is the interior lights are on at all times. I had a bad battery, the headlights were extremely dim (I could not see on the road) and the interior lights were not an issue until I got the new battery. Now my headlights finally work but the interior lights will not shut off. I have a feeling that it is because my trunk must be jammed which is causing the lights to stay on. When I try to put my key in the trunk it won't even budge.

I took out the fuse for dome light and the rear lights on the door panels but I do not know where the fuse is for the front door panels. If I can find out where they are I can buy myself some time to gather some more money to get it fixed. Otherwise I think I will be forced to disconnect my battery every time I exit my car when I am at work/get home. Any advice or tips for me?

 

for the rear hatch mine does the same crap i have to push down hard right above the handle then quickly pull the handle up believe me there have been many frustrating moments where i just wanted to beat it to death with a hammer

 

Well, If your sure that its the rear gate, Try hitting the light above the gate inside, (Should be a push button light) and see if that turns off your Interior lights, Mines a 95 and it has that feature so a 98 should too, If that doesn't solve your problem, The only other thing I can suggest is cut the gate If you can don't cut the hinges you may need them, And take it out. Then head to the JY and get ya a new one, It won't be the same color but it might work.

 

I just went outside, reconnected the battery and now the lights go off. I will definitely follow the advice in this thread because I have a suspicion that it is the trunk that is doing this.

 

I have a problem with my hatch as well I cut a slit in the inside hatch panel and tied a rope to the locking rod and all I have to do is pull it to the left and it un locks the hatch