Volkswagen: dash gauges work intermittenly, vw passat, printed circuit board

Question
1996 VW Passat GLX V6.  I am having a problem with the dash gauges. Sometimes they work sometimes not. Wife swears car is haunted.. What do i need to do to fix this problem?? Other than giving the car a swift kick in the tailpipe??

Answer
sadly the fault is likely to be the voltage regulator in the dash panel, if so, there are three dry soldered joints that break, and may need re soldering to the printed circuit board. if you are not 100% sure about doing this, then find an auto electrican to do it for you as a slight miss-hap could mean you need a new dash panel insert at stupid prices. (£300+)