Only one fan works? Is this correct?

777funk

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2017
Location
Missouri
TDI
2003 Jetta ALH - 5 speed
I noticed that one of the two fans is on. It's about 90F and the A/C was on max. I checked the high side and it's at 400 psi holding 2300 RPMs. Vent temp is only 55F. Not very good.



I think I have a fan problem... no? Anything else that could ramp up the high side this much? Low seems ok at 35psi.
 

KyleMillione

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2017
Location
Yaphank, New York
TDI
02 Jetta, 03 Jetta
Both fans should spin together. To test the fans, put car key on engine off and turn on the ac. They should both be on, if ones off its dead. You're probably gonna want to address it before it eats the AC compressor.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
You have a dead fan. These should be checked at every service, as they are common to fail. I've done three so far this week... and it is only Wednesday. :p
 

777funk

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2017
Location
Missouri
TDI
2003 Jetta ALH - 5 speed
I spun the bad one last night before going to bed and it squeaks so I figured it's shot. It's the big on on the driver's side. I'll see if O'Reilly has one. I'm not sure about O O O O'Quality... I know I've had bad luck with AutoZone's parts, but I'd like to have A/C running again.
 
Last edited:

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
Don't bother with Chinacool junk. Just get one from the dealer. They'll have them on the shelf.
 

777funk

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2017
Location
Missouri
TDI
2003 Jetta ALH - 5 speed
Don't bother with Chinacool junk. Just get one from the dealer. They'll have them on the shelf.

Thanks. Good to know. I was looking on AutoHausAZ and they have:
Brose (OE they claim) = $153
Meyle


The Meyle is about $40 cheaper. Both are high dollar IMO for one fan. May be close to the dealer pricing.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
If you think $150 is too high for a fan motor you are driving the wrong car, LOL. :p Of course, I guess the fans that are dropping dead on all these later model Ford products would probably stop your heart. Those are over $700.

Brose is one of the OEMs, as is Bosch, Temic, Valeo, and some others. However the aftermarket Valeos are now just a Chinafan in a Valeo box, I'd steer clear of those.

Meyle is Chinajunk.
 

777funk

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2017
Location
Missouri
TDI
2003 Jetta ALH - 5 speed
Great to know! Too bad there's so much trash out there in auto parts. Makes it hard to find the good stuff.



It's interesting on Ford... that's supposed to be basically the American "peoples car" the car anyone can afford. $700 for a fan... wow.



Speaking of Ford, I've owned a bunch of Taurus cars over the years and I don't think any of those ever needed replacing. One of my first cars was a Tempo and that fan needed attention but it ended up being the connector.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
Dec 11, 2001
Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I started in this business when first gen Tauruses were all coming out of warranty. Wow, what piles of crap. Transmissions, power steering lines, engine mounts, head gaskets, subframe washers rotting out causing the whole subframe to spontaneously fall out of the car taking off from a stop while simultaneously yanking the steering pinion apart and cracking the throttle cable open :eek:, ball joints, tie rods, steering racks, heater cores... man I hated those turds. I actually worked for a transmission shop for a short time part time, hired on by a friend's dad (it was his shop) just to help keep up with AXOD transmission R&Rs. And I do remember the fan control module was a common item to die on those, mounted right up on the cooling fan shroud.

Fortunately the vast majority of those cars are gone now. And that was "The Car That Saved Ford". :rolleyes:

Oh, almost forgot about the almost yearly a/c line spring connect o-ring replacements and stabilizer clamp installs.
 

777funk

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2017
Location
Missouri
TDI
2003 Jetta ALH - 5 speed
I had pretty good luck with mine. Maybe I owned them before or after what you mention. But I had two that were taken to 200k without much maintenance. My parents had similar experiences. Those were 3.0 vulcans fwiw. I did buy one wagon with a blown head gasket, but everything else was great and it was well worth the $200 I paid (with known condition).

I've had many vintage MBs and while the mechanics of the cars were obviously more robust, I spent a lot more time fixing them. If I didn't love the old diesels, working on them, and appreciate the engineering and longevity of the driveline, there's no way I'd had considered it a better driving experience. Lots of time working on those cars. Partly because of how old they were (20+ years vs 5-10+ on Tauruses). I still prefer the MB (and learning to love the VWs) to Fords... just that my experience was decent with them.
 

ToxicDoc

Veteran Member
Joined
Mar 1, 2018
Location
Virginia, US
TDI
2001 Jetta, S7, .216
I noticed that one of the two fans is on. It's about 90F and the A/C was on max. I checked the high side and it's at 400 psi holding 2300 RPMs. Vent temp is only 55F. Not very good.



I think I have a fan problem... no? Anything else that could ramp up the high side this much? Low seems ok at 35psi.
Any obstruction in the high-side of the system can increase pressure (restricted expansion valve for example), but if the fan isn't working, that is the first thing you have to address.
 

BobnOH

not-a-mechanic
Joined
May 29, 2004
Location
central Ohio
TDI
New Beetle 2003 manual
Don't forget to check your local dealer, sometimes, not usually, they'll have a good price. You can even haggle, some may even let you buy as a commercial entity. I have a commercial account at one local, I just used my company name, Production Drafting.
 

ktmkris

Veteran Member
Joined
Apr 24, 2013
Location
monroe nc
TDI
MALONE TUNES DEALER , 2005 beetle tdi dsg, 1998 vw beetle 2.slow, 2003 beetle turbo s, 1998 beetle 2.0, 2006 beetle bew
I have also seen this issue with a bad fan controller, where fans were fine but controller under battery was bad. I would test fan before replacing
 

JDSwan87

Black Swamp Thing
Joined
Feb 9, 2014
Location
Michigan near Toledo
TDI
2001 Jetta TDI, 5 speed Lagoon Blue Metallic(sold); 2005 Jetta TDI Wagon auto
I have also seen this issue with a bad fan controller, where fans were fine but controller under battery was bad. I would test fan before replacing
Yup, buddy of mine had a bad fan controller. Test for voltage at fan plug before replacing...
 

Dieselmonkey02

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Location
Edinburg, Pa
TDI
02 jetta
The OEM fan motors are as junky as junk can get. I had a bad one. I took it apart and the brushes were only about half way onto the slip ring. Maybe you can find one made by VDO or something.
 

777funk

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2017
Location
Missouri
TDI
2003 Jetta ALH - 5 speed
The OEM fan motors are as junky as junk can get. I had a bad one. I took it apart and the brushes were only about half way onto the slip ring. Maybe you can find one made by VDO or something.

I went ahead and ordered an O'Reillys part match to the OEM. I've read a little and comments the fan quality seems to line up with your comments. I'm not a big box auto parts fan after being bitten many times... but they have a lifetime warranty and the job doesn't look too hard.
 

Dieselmonkey02

Veteran Member
Joined
Dec 26, 2011
Location
Edinburg, Pa
TDI
02 jetta
I’ve probably spent 10’s of thousands of dollars at autozone over the years and I’ve never had much problem with parts from them. Don’t buy anything “valuecraft” brand; and buy genuine spicer u-joints from a driveshaft place and usually it’ll be fine. I think 90% of the autozone rap is installer induced.
 

777funk

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2017
Location
Missouri
TDI
2003 Jetta ALH - 5 speed
I’ve probably spent 10’s of thousands of dollars at autozone over the years and I’ve never had much problem with parts from them. Don’t buy anything “valuecraft” brand; and buy genuine spicer u-joints from a driveshaft place and usually it’ll be fine. I think 90% of the autozone rap is installer induced.

I have had ball end items (tie rods and steering pitman arms) that were as loose as the old part in less than a year's time. I've read similar stories from others. I've been buying Moog lately. Hopefully better.
 

InfoSec

Veteran Member
Joined
Jul 4, 2000
Location
Brighton, MI
the place in Colorado (forgot the name) has them with the blades for about $53. I'll have to check for the name when I get home.
 
Top