My A3 overheated yesterday. Popped the hood to find a random piece of plastic (from the road, mechanic that changed my oil Friday, who knows?) jammed into one of the fans. I pulled it out but they're dead now and I'm running with no A/C and no stopping in traffic to keep from overheating again.

Any easy way to test if it's the motor (my guess) or relay? Fuse looks fine. Also, where the heck is the motor? Is it internal in the larger fan?

Thanks in advance! Got a 3 hour drive in the morning that I'm not looking forward to!

Emmett

 

Well I left the car in DC on Monday and took my gf's car back to Jersey. She brought it to a mechanic (RS Automotive in Takoma Park) and they found a blown fusible link. They replaced it (~$200 - hopefully they're not taking advantage of her but I wasn't there) and now the fans won't turn off. They claim it could be a short in the ECU - my guess is more like a stuck relay. Also, they say she shouldn't drive it except to a dealer, and I think she can bring it up here this weekend as planned so I can check it out. Thoughts?