How to troubleshoot ac fan not working?

I am getting all the stuff rounded up to replace the solenoid valve on my 2006 jetta tdi. Sometimes it starts blowing cold air within 5 minutes of starting car, but sometimes its 30 minutes.
While checking ac pressure with gauge set i noticed the ac fan never ran. It does turn freely so is not locked from bearing failure. Where is fuse for this fan located? Is there no way to get to the connector for this fan without removing the entire shroud with both fans? I would then need to use 12 volt power supply to power ac fan directly to see if fan itself is bad. The car has 285k miles, maybe the brushes wore out? Thanks for the help!

I assume that you mean the RCV valve that goes in the AC compressor when you say solenoid valve. The fact that the fans work, whether after 5 minutes or 30 since you turn on the AC, leads me to believe that there is nothing wrong mechanically with them. The RCV valve might be the problem, it gets stuck, and that's why the fans are not turning. Replace the RCV valve. Plenty of threads on this forum about it.

One of the stickies:

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=242699

relumalutan said:

I assume that you mean the RCV valve that goes in the AC compressor when you say solenoid valve. The fact that the fans work, whether after 5 minutes or 30 since you turn on the AC, leads me to believe that there is nothing wrong mechanically with them. The RCV valve might be the problem, it gets stuck, and that's why the fans are not turning. Replace the RCV valve. Plenty of threads on this forum about it.

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He was referring to the air turning cold after those time frames, not the fans.

banshee365 said:

He was referring to the air turning cold after those time frames, not the fans.

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Possible. I am thinking that he never saw the fans turning because he did not wait with the car parked and engine running for 5 or 30 minutes until the RCV valve finally sent the signal to the the fans to turn. What he should do is: when he feels the AC blowing cold air, park the car, and without turning off the engine or the AC, check if the fans are working. I know that AC will work with the fans not turning, but only at highway speeds. If that would be the case, the AC will not work at low speeds or when stopped at traffic lights.
If the fans are indeed bad, might as well just buy a cheap generic fan assembly: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Radiator-C...AOSwjyhaBUhv:sc:FedExHomeDelivery!48044!US!-1
That's what I've done 4 years ago, and they still work OK.

"What he should do is: when he feels the AC blowing cold air, park the car, and without turning off the engine or the AC, check if the fans are working. I know that AC will work with the fans not turning" ----yea, that is what I did.

Somehow i did not make myself clear. I had driven jetta for one hour on highway back from work. The ac had started blowing cold air about 20 minutes into that trip. I parked it in driveway at house without ever turning it off, still blowing "cold" air. (it never blows really cold air as it should, but cools the car somewhat). Connected and checked pressure on low side and it was only 35 vs. 45psi. The charge is probably low. Then i noticed the ac fan not running. The ac fan should haveen on. I need to know how to see if it has popped a fuse or what is wrong. Rock Auto has new fan for 44.00, but dont know yet if its the fan itself. Thanks all.

Got it figured out. I removed the lower two bolts on dual fan shroud. Then i found the connector to ac fan. Ppoked power wire with test light and there is good dc voltage. So apparently the the ac fan is bad. Rock Auto has a replacement fan for $44.00.

jimigunne said:

Got it figured out. I removed the lower two bolts on dual fan shroud. Then i found the connector to ac fan. Ppoked power wire with test light and there is good dc voltage. So apparently the the ac fan is bad. Rock Auto has a replacement fan for $44.00.

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Junkyard! Quick and cheap.