My 2002 WV Golf has a weird electrical problem. Often the dash lights won't turn on when turning the head lights on. Occasionally the cars electrical system will act up when turning on the head lights. Some time ago I saw the interior lighting go crazy when the headlight went on. The interior cd lights, dash lights and such started going off and on.
Roger
I'm going to blame it on the rheostat that dims the dash lights. When they get old the contacts get dirty and can cause problems like this.