I have a 1998 volvo v70 non turbo engine. In cold weather the headlights and the dash lights wont come on until the engine has warmed up considerably. In really cold weather -30c or so this can take 20-30 minutes. Car starts fine. This doesnt seem right. Any ideas?

I would suspect the headlight switch before anything else. Cycle it on and off and fiddle with the position a little bit when this is happening. See if you can get a flicker or a response of any sort. You didn't say where you are so I don't know if you have DRL's which can complicate things. Put several car warmers in the car so that the interior is warm and see if the problem changes. If it does, that points to a switch or underdash connector problem of some sort. Sorry I can't be more helpful. These can be tough problems and sometime as easy as tightening up one connector (AFTER you find the miserable little ...).