2008 Jeep Wrangler: headlights failing or too dim

Filed Dec 13, 2025 · Electrical, Engine · CA

While driving at speed, vehicle electrical went haywire. Headlights went on and off. Horn sounding on and off, Wipers and washers going on and off, HVAC blower on and off. Pulled over vehicle and turned off and removed key and it still remained running, all horn, lights, and wipers still going on and off. Opened hood, removed negative battery terminal, and with that, car still ran! Was several minutes and car finally shut itself off. Scary that the car went completely haywire and would not shut off, even with key out, and battery disconnected!

Filed Sep 26, 2022 · Electrical, Lights · VA

Headlights stopped working. The Headlights are controlled by a computer. No relay, fuse, or anything that can be fixed at a parts store. We had to wait days for a computer to show up.

Filed Jun 8, 2022 · Electrical · WA

The contact owns a 2008 Jeep Wrangler. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds or while the vehicle was parked, the horn would sound, the windshield wipers would engage while the windshield washer would spray washer fluid on the windshield, the doors would lock and unlock, and the headlights would turn on an off intermittently. The contact stated that the vehicle would lose electrical and motive power and become difficult to steer. The contact stated that the failure had occurred at least 30 times since owning the vehicle. The vehicle was taken to an independent mechanic and several dealers who were unable to diagnose and determine the cause of the failure. The contact stated that he was informed that this was a known issue with Jeep vehicles. The contact stated that there was a recall for the issue for other years, makes, and models however, his vehicle was not included. The contract also did not have the recall information to provide. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was unknown.

Filed Dec 23, 2020 · Electrical, Lights · 104,007 miles · NY

Vehicle components begin malfunctioning, wipers turn on, wiper washer pump floods windshield, lights flash, headlights randomly turn off while vehicle is in motion, horn sounds, cannot turn vehicle off. Turn key to off position and vehicle continues to run creating an extremely dangerous situation. Wipers and washers blind driver randomly. Online research all points to known issue with totally integrated power module that has well documented failure rate. This is a horribly dangerous situation that deserves investigation and remediation.

Filed Jun 16, 2020 · Electrical, Visibility · 115,000 miles · FL

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler. The contact stated that on several occasions the doors locked and unlocked independently, with the horn blaring and headlamps flashing with the windshield wipers activated without warning, or driver input. The contact became aware that the failure was due to the failure of the totally integrated power module (tipm). The contact stated that to prevent the failure, the negative battery cable was disconnected while the vehicle was parked. The vehicle was not taken to be diagnosed nor repaired. The manufacturer was not made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 115,000.

Filed Sep 20, 2019 · Driver assistance, Electrical · SC

Jeep has mind of its own. No start, no headlights, wipers work on their own and spray all fluid. Jeep shuts off driving, then cant shut engine off with key.

Filed Jan 6, 2018 · Electrical, Lights · 88,500 miles · KS

We were driving in the nm mountains at night. The headlights and tail lights went out. The wipers started running. I pulled off the road. We were lucky we didn't have a wreck. Eventually we shut off the engine and restarted it. The lights came back on.

Filed Nov 27, 2017 · Electrical, Lights · 87,000 miles · NY

While driving headlights, windshield wipers/washer, signals, esp disable button and interior lights stopped functioning. This is the second tipm in this vehicle. The first was replaced after power windows stopped functioning.

Filed Oct 17, 2016 · Electrical · 55,000 miles · IN

Tl* the contact owns a 2008 jeep wrangler. While at a stop light, the horn erroneously sounded, the windshield wipers and wiper fluid activated, and the headlights flashed. After approximately ten minutes, the failures stopped and the vehicle operated normally. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The failure mileage was 55,000.

Filed Jun 5, 2016 · Electrical, Lights · 120,000 miles · TX

Head lights and interior dome lights go off and on .car is not running. Key is not in ignation. While driving clock goes dark and comes back on spontaneously. While parked overnight battery is drained completely. Difficulty starting car need to turn key to off position and lightly push on gear shift leavor, then vehicle will start. The all happens when vehicle is either running or parked in off position

Filed Mar 6, 2016 · Electrical, Lights · 49,000 miles · TX

Headlights continue to go out. Daughter has to drive home with fog lights. Engine fan comes on and off. Took to jeep they said it was a short and it worked for a month, same thing. After research it appears the tipm is bad, lots of complaints etc. Online regarding this issue. The lights have gone off while driving on highway, and city street and also after the car was parked at work all day. It is random. I have tapped on the tipm module and then turned on the lights and they work again for a day or two and then go out again. This has happened several times since december 2015, the last time was march 5, 2016.

Filed May 9, 2015 · Electrical · LA

The totally integrated power module (tipm) is faulty as it is in many wranglers of this year. On a regular basis, the horn will engage continuously, the wipers turn one, the spray nozzle sprays fluid, the radio occasionally will turn off, the headlights turn off (driving hazard at night), and the doors lock sometimes. All of this happens at the same time. You can turn the key off and take it out and the engine continues to run and the problems continue to occur until you either unhook the battery or knock on top of the tipm. Sometimes the vehicle will not start. Code given is u0141 which is "loss of communication with the front control module (tipm)." this is a very well known issue with the late 2007 and 2008 years of the wrangler model. It is a faulty product installed by chrysler and many dealerships recognize the issue. Chrysler refuses to issue a recall for the problem.