I had this problem on my 2001 GC....had it fixed several months ago....there was a recall on certain yrs of the WJ style grand cherokee, due to bad fan bearings. Your cooling fan will sound like it kicks on when it should, because the motor does activate however the fan is not turning due to the shot bearings. Contact your local dealer, should be a free fan replacement if that is the problem.
The coolant temp. sensor could be bad....or the thermostat could be stuck shut.....there are a few things it could be actually
The light is not a coolant light, it is a temperature light which comes on when the temperature of the coolant is above the limits. In other words you engine is overheating. Can be defective thermostat, bad water pump, clogged radiator, or blown head gasket.
Check coolant level Could be thermostat is not opening Could be a bad water pump
On many engines you have to bleed the air from a bleed screw or trapped air will stop coolant from circulating. Thermostat installed backwards? Radiator plugged up? Hopefully it's not head gaskets. If it's blowing white smoke and the exhaust smells sweet, then it is head gasket.
most likely the timing is off, this affects fuel economy and other things.
No thermostat, no coolant, no waterpump. Basically you have no coolant circulating.
Yes it can. A faulty thermostat can cause overheating which will cause coolant to be pushed out of the system.
Low coolant, bad coolant tank cap, stuck thermostat, or clogged coolant line.
Low coolant? Thermostat not opening? Water pump not circulating coolant?
Low coolant? Cooling fan not working? Thermostat not opening? Water pump not circulating coolant?
Probably the thermostat is sticking.
If it's overheating, it cold be thermostat, radiator or possibly other problems. If it's not overheating it could be the coolant level sensor.
2 things I can think of which need to be checked: your coolant and your thermostat.
Could be from a variety of things. Commonly overheating occurs when the car is low on coolant, broke thermostat or the radiator needs repairs.
Thermostat, water pump, radiator cap, headgasket, low coolant.
stop an engine
A thermostat that is stuck in the closed position is a very common cause of overheating. A new thermostat should be installed every time the coolant is changed.