Mine did the same at night in the middle of Utah. Seeing as I had more
driving to do that night I pulled the Light switch and snapped it apart. The
parking contacts were floating on springs but not the driving lights. Close
inspection revealed that the driving contact was stuck into the slightly
deformed plastic cavity that it fits into, it's supposed to float with the
pressure of the springs on the back side in the cavity. This explains how
mine would light if I pressed on the light switch a few times. Some light
scraping in the cavity  with an Exacto knife freed it up to float freely and
presto a switch that worked better than it has in a year. Some dielectric
grease helps with smooth operation and prevent corrosion as well.

Wayne
91 Syncro
>
> Hi folks,
>
> My headlights stopped working.  For some time, they
> seems to be coming on a little late.  That is, I would
> turn the lights on, and then they would come on 2
> seconds later.  Then once a few weeks ago, I thought I
> noticed them fading slightly when driving.  I thought
> it was an illusion, until I really focused on them,
> and it was really happening.
>
> Then the other day, they wouldn't come on at all.  The
> lights still work when I hold the highbeam switch on
> (I'm talking about the flasher switch on the left of
> the steering wheel) If I manually hold the lever up,
> the high beams do work.  The parking lights work fine.
>
> Anyone have any insight into this problem which is
> sure to steal some time from my life trying to figure
> it out?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Phil Hanson
> 1980 Westfalia