In pursuit of solving my having to turn on either the parking or
headlights so the car will start, I've come up with two suggestions.

Sug. 1 is that there is a faulty ground somewhere and the ignition
somehow is talking power from the light circuit in order to start. This
came from a long time VW mechanic. He suggested living with the
problem.....

Sug. 2 is that someone in the past messed with the relays and put one
back in the wrong location. This was suggested by my German mechanic
friend who hasn't worked on VWs since he escaped Germany for better
bucks... Martin can be intuitive at times and so I'd like to get some
help from anyone on this list that just might happen to have a 90 GL in
their stable..... I took a picture of my van's fuse / relay situation. I
can send that to the person who has a 90' GL if they exist and also are
willing to help me with this pesky problem. Simply let me know if the
number of relays and location is the same as yours.... If it isn't...
then maybe the problem will go away if I change my relays to match
yours... If they're the same, well on to other theories.....

If anyone with a similar van can help please email me back...

Thanks
Jim