air conditioning problem

[drewpey]

I have a 2000 Passat. The other day the air conditioning was working. I always turn off the AC when I enter and exit the car, and today when I got in, and switched on the AC, it seemed like there was a linkage problem, not allowing me to switch past 1 and 2 on the AC controls. On top of that, there wasn't any air blowing from the AC at all, cold or hot. Then the AC button would be lit when the AC was turned to the Off position, which was unusual. Eventually after toying with it enough, the switch would go all the way to the "4" position, but everything remained real inconsistent, the AC would sometimes work(with cold air), but more often not. Overall it sounds like a bad switch or something along the lines of an electrical problem. I tried to open the dash to take a look but couldn't figure out how to open it up, any advice would be appreciated!