Radiator fan may be draining battery

[cjgrl1]

I've had my 2002 Diesel Beetle for four years and this is the first time it's ever done this. I went out to my car and the battery was dead (not unusual, except that I got a new battery over a year ago and it hadn't done it since). When we tried to jump it off, a fan in the engine started as soon as the batteries were connected....25 minutes later and no headway on actually starting the car. So we switched to jumping it off with a truck...still no luck.

What do I need to do? My best guess is coolant problems making the radiator fan not shut off, but I couldn't get the cap off to check and the sensor hasn't been going off anyways.

Is there anything I can do to fix it at home? How much will it cost to be fixed? Also, I'm 19 with no knowledge of cars, so over-explaining is appreciated!

Thanks.

[billymade]

I think I would start with having the charging system checked; this can be done for free at most auto parts stores like autozone or o'rielly's, if you can get the battery charged and driven there... they can check everything out with a diagnostics computer, while the car is running. This will confirm that the alternator (component that charges the battery) is good and that the battery is good as well. That would eliminate the charging system as a possible problem and they could scan the car for any trouble codes too.... a beginning in the process of figuring out what is wrong.