need help w/electrical problems

[Floridajohnny]

My 2000 Beetle TDI's fan suddenly doesn't work. I cannot turn the A/C on or even just the fan. I checked fuse #25 and it's fine. What else should I check for?

[Floridajohnny]

I also pulled fuse #25 and checked for voltage across the socket and got no voltage. I checked fuse #24 to make sure I was doing it correctly and got 10.xx volts.


fuse #5 and #16 are good also

Sometimes, the ABS and Brake light come on and beep while driving now and the fuel gauge reads past full. This is driving me crazy. Please help.

[noR]

Check the fuses on top of the battery for the fans.
If it's not that you'll need to break out a tester and test the connections and wires going backwards from the fan.

ABS/Brake light ... probably a lose connection on the ABS wheel speed sensors.... one of the 4.

[Floridajohnny]

All 3 fuses on top of the battery checked out good with the multimeter. Could the fuel gauge, abs, brake lights and fan be related or are they seperate issues?

[Floridajohnny]

I installed a new ignition switch today. I followed miataman's instructions. Unfortunately, the fan still does not function.
What direction should I take from here?

[noR]

Probably seperate issues. Cooling has nothing to do w/ vehicle speed or direction.

Next check where the fans are plugged in w/a multimeter. (drivers side, kinda near where the foglight is) Are they getting power, or not getting power? At this point I think it's a hunt for the point of failure.

I'm not sure if the coolant sensor would have any effect on the fans directly.. but it sounds highly possible... you may want to check that before tracing the wires from the fans...

[Floridajohnny]

what I mean by fan problem is the a/c fan.

[noR]

okay, sorry I must be retarded haha. I've beent thinking cooling fans this whole time.

[Floridajohnny]

I don't think I was very clear.
I'm ready to drive this car into Tampa Bay I am so frustrated with these electrical problems.

[hannaco]

There are resistors on the board that the fan switch is fastened to. Check to see if they are all OK. You will have to pull the front of the dash off to get to them.

[Floridajohnny]

Great news! I fixed my A/C problem. It turned out to be the old metal part falling off the switch problem. I glued the metal piece back and BINGO, I have A/C! Everything is now back in place except for the radio. I can seem to get it back in. Any suggestions?

[mrbeetlebrain]

The radio is a pain to reinstall, you've got to take off the lower dash bit - the bit with the emergency light switch and get your hand up inside the dash to guide the cables so the body of the radio will fit - make sure you take off any rings you wear and be patient.

Cheers, paul

[Floridajohnny]

Thanks for the advise, mrbeetlebrain. that did the trick. everything is back in place and working.

[mrbeetlebrain]

no worries, done it many times myself.

[noR]

SWEET. Problems solved.. That's great Johnny.

[John Koch]

Originally Posted by hannaco

There are resistors on the board that the fan switch is fastened to. Check to see if they are all OK. You will have to pull the front of the dash off to get to them.

Only the interior blower motor has a resistor pack to protect against thermal over load. The fans refered to in these posts are the 2 front end radiator cooling fans.
These fans are operated by the fan module. The fan module recieves its temp. info. from a totally seperate temp. sensor thats mounted to the lower drivers side of the radiator itself. It can be removed and replaced with-out draining the coolant. In order to really check all that module out, a VAg-COM scan for that and related components should be done. In lew of that being done, the fan module temp. sensor can be checked by unhooking the connection to it and using a plain jumper wire, bridge the red wire to the red/white wire. Both fans should run on the first speed. Next jump the red-yellow wire to the red wire.. Both fans should run at high speed. If the fans run, it may indicate the temp. sensor is bad. Of course before jumping any connections, fuses #3 and #8 in the fuse box on the top of the battery should be checked. # 16 fuse should also be checked that is located in the end of dash drivers side fuse panel. If all these measures fail to locate the problem, then a VW VAG-COM scan is indicated. The cooling fans are interfaced with many different components, including the A/C system. I suspect a bad temp. sensor or a failed fan thermal switch. I think the fan module is ok, but it could also be the root cause of this problem. Good Luck, JK