are my fans playing up?

[Mrk_Mickey]

Hey guys, I did a quick search on here but didn't really find what I was looking for. I'm just wondering if my VR radiator fans are playing up or not. Symptoms:

1. When engine is on, the fans will only come on if temperature is hot enough. This is fine.
2. When engine is off, but the ignition is turned to ACCESORY (reds) then the fans will not be on.
3. When engine is off, and the ignition is off/keys are taken out, the fans are on.

I know the fans stay on for a few minutes after a drive, but recently I've noticed that if I turn my key into accessory position for a small while and then turn it back off again (or take key out, same thing) then my fans will kick in - regardless of the temperature of the car, weather, or whether I've been for a drive or not. As soon as I turn the key to accessories/put it back in and turn it to accessories, the fans will stop.

[Jmac]

Mate did you overflow any coolant when you were bleeding her after the build??????? The reason i ask is the fan control block sits under the coolant header tank. Sounds like there is something going on mate, understand them running on hot but not cold mate. Just have a general look around there and at the plugs but yeah something not right.
Jmac ( will look at a diagram mate)
Jmac

[Mrk_Mickey]

Ok thanks bud I'll have a look

[tassie_euro_mk1]

good point Jmac


Mickey, my fans were playing up aswell. It was the fan control module. i didnt have the clear plastic cover over the fuses on mine and coolant run down into the module.

hahaha should of seen it. corroded as **** lol.... got a brand newie from GAP

[Mrk_Mickey]

Lol I've still got my plastic so what am i checking for, just fuses and corrosion/evidence of damage?

[tassie_euro_mk1]

my old man pried the module open to look inside it. It was rusty and the teminals and other things (can u tell im no mechanic lol) had bad connections. you will know if its stuffed. it looks crappy.

he gave it a clean and tried it again but it was way beyond repair lol.


but dont rule anything else out. thats just what happened to be because i had no cover over the fuses.

[Mrk_Mickey]

Dammit! now my fans don't work at all! I don't think they even work when the engine is on. Is there a list of things that someone could tell me to check so I can rule things out and find the culprit? Cheers

[Jmac]

Already have mate the relay under the coolant bottle. Ok test your fans find the fan switch on the Rad and bridge it, the fans should run. The relay block is common mate. Remember when you switch on your AC your fans should come on right away to cool the condensor. Try this too if the fans dont work with this then this would rule out the fan switch on the rad being the initial culprit. So to recap 1st test AC on and fans should run
JMac

[h100vw]

I had some problems with this on my Ibiza and the fuse had broken. If you have the VW fuses still do yourself a favour and change them all for new ones.

Gavin

[Mrk_Mickey]

Lol I checked the fuses today and they're fine..they don't look like the VW fuses so I'm thinking they're okay. I forgot about the A/C test i'll try that tomorrow. Thanks guys

[Mrk_Mickey]

Ok so surely enough the fans run with the AC on. That means my switch is fine, right? Next thing I have to ''check'' is the module.