Volkswagen Forum - VW Forums for Volkwagen enthusiasts - 1998 Jetta GLS

Hello,

I am new to the forum. Thanks so much for having me. My 1998 Jetta GLS (mileage 126K) is having some electrical issues. I wanted to run it by the forum and see if anyone has come by these issues before, knows the cause of the problem, and/or knows what needs to be fixed. The problem is as follows:

When I am driving (whether at day or night, when the car is moving or idle), the following issues happen instantaneously: the internal fan stops blowing, the parking brake light appears on my dash, the car headlights turn off, and the windshield wipers stop (if they are on). This usually only happens max 1 time while I am driving and lasts for usually 5-10 seconds max; however, of late it has been occurring more frequently and lasting for up to 30 seconds.

At night it is easy to notice, as I am suddenly driving in the dark. During the day, I notice this primarily because the fan stops blowing. Generally, I always have the fan blowing for either cold air or heat; I have yet to see the problem occur when the internal fan is not blowing. One note: at night when the headlights go out and I am driving in the dark, I can turn on the brights until my normal headlights come back on (much to the chagrin of oncoming traffic). I would say this issue first started at the beginning of August.

Please let me know if there is any further information I can provide you. Thanks so much for your help!

Best,

Jetta98