loud radiator fan

[mk3pete]

is this a common problem with vrs or mk3s
wondering if its an easy fix or not
i have a feeling its a dry bearing but then again who knows

[Mrk_Mickey]

When you say loud....do you mean you can hear it over your engine or something?

mk3 fans are loud as!! If you ever get the high pitched noise from your engine, there's another fan I've been told that kicks in when things are REALLY hot. It's funny as hell when you first hear it, cos you're like WTF is that...
heheh.

[mk3pete]

yeah it does come on when its hot but I can hear it above my engine and music
iv had my vr for 2 years now and its never been like that til a couple of months ago

[Tim]

loud as in spinning fast or loud as in making an unusual noise?

If its spinning fast perhaps a thermostat has malfunctioned somewhere and its constantly on full speed?
Perhaps your car is running hotter than usual for some reason?

If its an unusual noise then maybe the fans themselves are in need of replacement

[mk3pete]

well its 38 this friday so il look into it then i hope its somthing simple thx tim

[The_Hawk]

The VR6 has a three stage fan, the 4 bangers have a 2 stage fan.

On the VR6 both high and low speed comes on when needed, including as an afterrun fan when you turn the car off and it's still hot.

It is controlled by a number of sensors, here is three at the front of the engine:


From memory, the blue runs the guage in the cabin, the yellow runs the high speed and afterrun, the other runs the ECU. There is also another sensor in the radiator itself... can't recall what that ones does... :S

Note the high speed is also switched on when you turn the AC on to help cool the AC system.

In my car I had high speed on permanently and had a manual overide switch put in to turn it off. In the end I think it was the pressure switch in the AC that was causing the problem since when I replaced half the AC system and that sensor the fans started working properly.

I have been round and round and over the wiring diagrams trying to work out what my issues were, in the end I came to the conlusion it's actually some sort of black magic

[mk3pete]

awesome info there man this will be very helpful i suppose it did start around the same time i got the ac installed but it was a brand new aftermarket one

[dom123]

my fan was warped and made a hell of a vibration and noise i doubt thats your problem but that wasnt cheap to fix.

[malteser]

I also noticed recently with the air con on, and on a hot day, the thermofans make a hell of a noise, really high pitched.

Must be the third stage of the thermofan setting...

Mark

[mk3pete]

its like a loud humming sound i suppose if everyone has this noise then its
A........ a common problem
B........ its normal

[Mrk_Mickey]

I think it's normal mate...Every VR I've been in makes that sound when the fans come on.

[Bug_racer]

The radiator fan is 3 stage

the low and medium come off the switch thats in the radiator
the high speed works through the fan ecu
the 3 switches are dash , engine ecu and fan ecu

The fans are noisier now cause the brushes just wear out and it starts losing balance causing them to be louder

[mk3pete]

The radiator fan is 3 stage

the low and medium come off the switch thats in the radiator
the high speed works through the fan ecu
the 3 switches are dash , engine ecu and fan ecu

The fans are noisier now cause the brushes just wear out and it starts losing balance causing them to be louder

hmmm so that means an expensive replacement or can it be repaired

[Mrk_Mickey]

But first ask yourself, is it really broken?..

[mk3pete]

hehehe yes indeed well said