So this seems a little obvious but I am wondering what should I be looking for as far as failing electrical components that would cause the fans to not come on. (unless i start the climate control) I did check the fuse for it on the battery cover and it is good. I was looking on ECS tuning and it mentions a thermo switch but says up to 2002 and there are no others listed. Mine is a 02 btw. The other thing I was looking at is the control module but again says split in 2000 and it says it sits under the resevoir. I dont think I have one of these in there. And there are none for anything over 2000. I am getting ready to have the timing belt and water pump done along with the coolant temp sensor and thermostat but the tech I was talking to about this said he thought that my water pump is failing and that the fans shouldnt come on idling with the temperature that we had that day. It was mid 50s but that doesnt sound right. Summer is coming and I am trying to cover all my bases so I dont have issues.

Thanks for the help

 

The fan control module if I am thinking clearly, is located on the front frame rail (driverside) underneath by the fans. Can you spin the fans freely ?

 

The fans do spin freely and as a matter of fact last night while at a drivethrough the car started to overheat so i turned the heat on and the fans kicked in and the temperature came back down to normal. At this point I am assuming it is the fan switch on the radiator. I stopped at a local vw and they said there are 2 available one has a triangle plug and one has a square plug. They want 50 for each and ecs has the square one for 5 bucks.

I would assume that if the fans do actually come on that it wouldnt be the control module itself but wasnt sure

 

Quick question.
So if my car is overheating while idling when sitting in traffic, fans do not turn on and goes back to normal temp once driving over 20 mph. Fans do not turn on with a/c or heat. Haven't really ever used A/C and believe it does not work, but I know the fans do not turn on for heat either. Fans are actually fairly new bc replaced when radiator was replaced.
What does that mean? What should I replace?

 

Have it scanned with vagcom and see if you're getting any coolant sensor malfunctions, etc. It's not a good idea to just start buying parts and hoping it works. Do the fuses on top of the battery feel loose at all? They can be good fuses, but if they are look could be a pain in the but. I highly suspect the fan control module has taken a dump on you. I think there is a way to test continuity on them (bench test). Hopefully someone will chime in who knows a little more about this.

 

FIRST of all! let me say this please dont pay to have your coolant temp sensor switched out youll get scalped for something that would cost you less than 10 dollars to buy and it takes literally all of 30 seconds to switch out. Same thing with your thermostat..and no you dont need to remove your alternator to get to it..contrary to popular belief. Now moving on from that. Let me give you some facts about how and why your fans operate. Your fans come on intermittently to perform the function of cooling, which in these little turbo vehicles which run very hot is very very important. Now your fans will come on depending what temperatures are reached and theyll either run full bore or at their slower speed all this of course comes down to temperature. Now let me get this straight you have seen both of your fans on at some point correct? If this is true well then at least you dont have to replace your fans. Going backwards in connection order from your fans you may want to look at your radiator fan switch which is located beneath your battery and in the lower left corner of your radiator. Next look at your cooling fan module which sits right below your battery cradle. And actually your mechanic is partially correct if you literally just turned on your vehicle and havent even moved it and its 50 degrees outside your fans SHOULD NOT come on...Now if you start driving and come to a stop then obviously as you stop and go your fans will start working with the corresponding rise in temperature. Now with that being said i think what he was thinking of was the fact that AFTER your turn off your vehicle your fans SHOULD NOT RUN!! and why should they not run.. because of your auxillary water pump, which is specifically made to be in charge of cooling once your turn your vehicle off. If you listen closely you can hear it working after your turn your engine off. Now one reason your fans would be coming on after you turn off your vehicle is if the pump was not functioning. The vehicle says "hey what the hell i need to cool myself soo fans kick in" Again if you experience this then yes you most likely need to replace your auxillary water pump.

Hope this helps Also let me get this straight but you havent actually had an incident of overheating? or any other symptoms to make your worry that your vehicle isnt working properly? Speaking from personal experience if you drive your vehicle for about 30 minutes and then say have lunch and get back in and drive another 30 minutes home. If by this time you havent had your instrument panel blaring some sort of warning at you. Id say your pretty much ok. These little cars overheat quickly and stay hot if something in the cooling system isnt working properly.

 

So I posted a question here last week maybe 2 about my fans. I thought they didnt turn on at all well they do at I think 207 degrees can't exactly remember of the top of my head. That was when I ran it through vagcom. It overheated a few times last year in traffic and would return to normal over 35 mph and this year in March when we had some good weather going through a drive thru, but hasn't since running it through vagcom and I have been in some traffic in hot weather so far so I am beyond confused.