electric fan problem

[jazzcat]

alright got my water pump and timing belt swapped around at a meinike that i trust


they informed me that the electric fan works just doesn't come on when the car is running(they tested it seperatly)

temp sensor? fan sensor? what could it be and how do i fix it? no fans is all good and fine in st louis during the winter when it doesn't go above 50...two weeks from now though ill be in phoenix

please help!

[speedie]

Fan only comes on when a certain temp threshold is reached. Natural air flow over the radiator when you drive helps cool it most of the time.

Drive the car a little to warm it, then pop the hood and let it idle...the fan should kick on once you lose the benefit of air flowing over the raditor.

Do not leave the car unattended in case your fans really are bunk.

[jazzcat]

Originally Posted by speedie

Fan only comes on when a certain temp threshold is reached. Natural air flow over the radiator when you drive helps cool it most of the time.

Drive the car a little to warm it, then pop the hood and let it idle...the fan should kick on once you lose the benefit of air flowing over the raditor.

Do not leave the car unattended in case your fans really are bunk.

fans aren't coming on..they did that at meinike and they never came on


what do i need to replace? on camaros and mustangs ive owned you could just ground the fan switch out and the fans would be on when the key was in the on position...can i do that with this car or is that a nono

[speedie]

I don't have enough enough experience to say yah or nah, but you could start at the base by checking out fuse and relay and then testing the fan switch with a voltmeter. It may be possible that your fan motor is kaput.

The car wasn't designed to have the fan on all the time, so I don't know what impacts, if any, it would have on your gas mileage and a/f ratio since engine temp is an input used by the computer to calculate mixture.

My fans kick on during stop-and-go traffic and during idle periods.

[jazzcat]

Originally Posted by speedie

I don't have enough enough experience to say yah or nah, but you could start at the base by checking out fuse and relay and then testing the fan switch with a voltmeter. It may be possible that your fan motor is kaput.

The car wasn't designed to have the fan on all the time, so I don't know what impacts, if any, it would have on your gas mileage and a/f ratio since engine temp is an input used by the computer to calculate mixture.

My fans kick on during stop-and-go traffic and during idle periods.

ill let it warm up and see...they said that they tested the fan and it was fine, that i had a problem with a relay or a switch or something...that in stop and go traffic when they had all the coolant worked out that the car was heating up...they pulled it over and no fans on

[speedie]

Have you been having probs before?

I have a temp gauge in my 1.8t and about 4 minutes after my blue temp light goes out, I'm on the highway and my temp warms to 190. It stays here during my highway drive. When I slow down and get into stop-and-go traffic, it takes awhile before my engine hits the 200-208 degree threshold.

I'm willing to bet your cooling system is fine especially if you havn't gotten any red temp lights.

Is Mineke familiar with VWs, or are they going by the usual car standard on fans supposed to be on?

Monitor your car, after a good warm-up of at least 15 minute driving...idle the engine and wait. Investigate the switch or relay if the fan isn't kicking on. Check the old forums, there are a lot of threads about switches and relays.

Good luck!

[jazzcat]

never had any problems before but then again never had it in the summer either...i let it sit for 20 min after the car was warm last night and the fans never did kick on...it was also 30* outside so i dont know if that had a factor in it or not...im going to check up in my bently manual and see where the relays and switches are and just replace them