'97 Jetta dash goes dead

have you checked the battery terminals, cables etc... never hurts to get the altenator and battery tested. cars do some squirrely things when the battery stops holding a charge advance auto does it for free.

don't check your alternator... what motor do you have? the dash thing could be anything... it's a vw. check your wiring behind the dash, maybe for a ground. do you have static in your radio? have you checked your ignition system? could just not be getting spark.

replace the ignition switch not the whole key part just the plug in part on the bottom of the ignition,they wear out and cause the dash to do crazy things along with windshield wipers and headlights,you can plus the new one in and test it before replacing it,because to replace it you need to remove the steering colum just to get the 1 little screw out that holds it in place,but its really an easy job,i did mine in 1/2 hour

sounds like an ECM too me, if you can get a hold of a used one to try it out I bet that will fix your problem. Not sure on the MK3's but the MK2's it was mounted on the left side of car under the wiper assy.

My 97 Jetta GT's dash odometer, speedometer, tach, would operate erratically then stop working altogether. The problem was the solder joints on the dash cluster's main connector were all cracked. I resoldered them and all was fine.

Change your MAF Sensor (mass air flow) it’s on the intake hose attached to the filter box, or in general area if cold air modified. Trust me the same thing was wrong with a car I bought dirt cheap for this very reason.