Trunk motor activates when lights are turned on

Sounds like a bad ground to me.

I thought that as well but how far back in the system would I need to search to find it? I checked everything i could think of on the rear end of the car and didn't find any issues . Tail lights, brake light, trunk motor, convertible top...any other ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Not sure where to check on these cars, but I've had the problem with other cars. I do know on the New Beetle there is a big ground connection underneath the battery tray, but based on your symptoms, I'd look for one near the rear of the car first. Consulting a wiring diagram in a repair manual might help. I'd look for a common ground for all the lights and electrical accessories that are "acting up".

I remember tapping the brake pedal on my '80 Chevy Citation and every light on the dash came on! On that car, there was a ground wire under the dash that connected to a bolt on the firewall. I took the nut and the "O" shaped electrical connector off the bolt, cleaned everything really well with a stiff wire brush, then reassembled it all with a thin coat of dielectric grease which I thought might help prevent future corrosion. That particular problem never came back on that car.

Good luck, as electrical gremlins are sometimes hard to track down.

Any other ideas out there? I've checked the CCM and every connection i can find related to brake lights but i don't have a bently manual for this vehicle yet so I'm not exactly sure where to look once i get past the obvious connections. Does anyone know of odd wiring connections i should check or has anyone else even heard of this problem on the NBC?

Also, my wife just informed me today that her courtesy lights do not work at night inside the car and she just noticed that sometimes at night when she hits the brakes and the buzzing from the trunk gets louder, the dash lighting will flicker a bit. I'm not sure if the problem is getting worse or if its been like this since it first started since this car is not a daily driver. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Wiring diagrams can be found in the Bentley manuals for our cars. But, they're not cheap, so you'll need to decide between buying an expensive manual and hoping it helps, or taking the car to a mechanic who already has the proper VW repair manuals. My paper Bentley manual set me back about $100 U.S.