wipers/fan/headlights die

I may have posted this earlier but I was unable to find it so please forgive my redundancy. I have a 1999 (A3) and when I start the car I can turn the wipers on and they work (as does the fan/headlights) but when I release the parking brake the wipers stop (and the fan/headlights don't work). Sometimes they (all 3 accessories) die while I'm driving. Any body have an idea where I can start troubleshooting this one? Thanks in advance.

The good news is that it was the ignition switch. So if you have the same problem follow the thread on replacing the ignition switch. The way I found out it was the switch for sure was holding the key as far right as possible and turning on the fan...it worked only when the switch was pushed far right. The problem was clearly the switch.

How did the hand brake lever information you provided figure in to this ignition switch problem?
1999 is an A4, unless it is a Cabrio (no TDI in US). The 97-98 Jetta TDI were A3. The New Beetle, 99+ Jetta and 99+ Golf are A4.

The headlights on the A3 go on when you release the parking brake lever. I didn't know this until I fixed the switch. So everything worked until I released the brake lever and it tried to turn on the headlights and instead shut off the fan/wipers/headlights. Now it all works.

The mark IV did not begin in the Jetta until what some people call a 99.5. The first few months of the 1999 model year Jettas were in fact the "old" what some people call "A3" not the newer rounded "A4" which I prefer to call Mk 4.