2008 Audi A6 Quattro 3.2L Cooling fan not working......

[damedolla]

Hello, good afternoon this is my first post. So I recently purchased a 2008 Audi A6 Quattro 3.2L. Everything was fine no check engine light. The first problem I noticed one day was at idle the car just shut off it took me a few tries they car came on. Weeks passed by no issues till one day I was sitting at a light and noticed the coolant gauge way past the half mark then a warning light came on starting coolant temperature was high. I immediately pulled over noticed that I was low on coolant. I let the car cool down then added coolant. The car worked fine for a day or 2 then I noticed the overheating issue again days later also my AC was running warm. When I drive on the highway I dont have these issues no overheating and AC is ice cold. I noticed that my fan was not coming on someone suggested it may be the module for the fan. I check but there is no module instead fan was connected to 2 relays that were wired to the fuse box in the plenum driver side. There is no check engine light and Vagcom is not giving me any codes. Sorry for the long post but just needed to give the run down from start. The relays have a Mercedes logo on them does my car have a module for the fan or is the relay connection correct.

[estomax]

when i bought my 2007 a6 3.2 the cooling fan and cooling fan control module were dead. There were no warnings on the dash for this though. The only clue i had was a code from vagcom that the fan module was bad.

Either way, the cooling fans should be coming on with AC being on, and when the car is warm it PWM speeds the fans from slow to fast.

3 Faults Found:
006449 - Coolant Fan Control Module (J293)
P1931 - 007 - Malfunction - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100010
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 187
Reset counter: 40
Mileage: 372051 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2018.09.04
Time: 17:07:06

the fans not working is generally not an issue, especially on the highway, as there is sufficient airflow over the radiator to keep things cool. You only need the fans for stop and go traffic or prolonged idling realistically. On my other cars i have been able to temporarily run fanless by simply turning the cabin heat on high to suck the heat out of the engine, though that is not a pleasant method during summer months.

when you turn your AC on, does the AC fan turn on? There are some fan tests through vagcom that i remember doing, that turns each fan on and cycles through speeds.

Marko

[damedolla]

when i bought my 2007 a6 3.2 the cooling fan and cooling fan control module were dead. There were no warnings on the dash for this though. The only clue i had was a code from vagcom that the fan module was bad.

Either way, the cooling fans should be coming on with AC being on, and when the car is warm it PWM speeds the fans from slow to fast.

3 Faults Found:
006449 - Coolant Fan Control Module (J293)
P1931 - 007 - Malfunction - Intermittent
Freeze Frame:
Fault Status: 00100010
Fault Priority: 2
Fault Frequency: 187
Reset counter: 40
Mileage: 372051 km
Time Indication: 0
Date: 2018.09.04
Time: 17:07:06

Thank you for the information and responding to my post. Well since Vagcom is not giving me anything. I will first jumper the fan to make sure the fan is working. If it is then I have to figure out that 2 relay contraption that is in place of where I thought the control module should be located. I can tell it's not a factory setup because both relays are labeled with Mercedes logos. Part number A 002 542 13 19 they are both wired to the fan and another jumper goes into what I think is the plenum relay box on the driver's side. Do you know if this is normal or should I look into getting a module?

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Audizine mobile app

[estomax]

i have not seen that myself, sounds like someone worked around getting rid of the oem fan controller module, but how they got rid of the vagcom codes is beyond me.

definitely start by simply hotting 12v to the fans and see if they spin. that was one of my issues. i bought a cheap fan set off amazon for 150$ that bolted right on and hasn't had an issue in over a year now.

be careful not to break any of the plastic coolant nipples! they get brittle over time, that cost me another 200$ in parts.

[Xsport]

I had a similar problem. No codes either.

Turned out to be a massive Mud dauber obstructed the auxiliary fan in a inconspicuous location.

[Traxx33]

I’m having the same issue. My fan isn’t coming on at all. Where on the fan can I “hot test” it to the battery?

[estomax]

take some alligator clips and the plug directly from the fan to the battery, it will have two wires if i remember correctly. just put one to positive one to negative. if you hook it up backwards the fan will run in reverse, but if it doesn't work try both ways, can't hurt it.

either way, the fan is a simple 12v DC motor at the end of the day.

Marko

[silver911rdb]

Just had a problem with my 2010 A6 Avant. I let it cool down an drove with the heat on to make it home. Temperature ran normally on the way home. Weird thing, when I got home I could hear the fans running. When I turned off the heat, the fans shutoff. When I turned on the heat the fans ran again. How can the heat fan affect the cooling fans? I'm guessing the fan module is the problem because the fans do run when the heat is on

[Traxx33]

take some alligator clips and the plug directly from the fan to the battery, it will have two wires if i remember correctly. just put one to positive one to negative. if you hook it up backwards the fan will run in reverse, but if it doesn't work try both ways, can't hurt it.

either way, the fan is a simple 12v DC motor at the end of the day.

Marko

Thanks Estomax. I’m having trouble locating the wire from the fan itself. Do I have to remove the front bumper to access it, or is accessible at an easier location?

[estomax]

the fan wires will end up at those double relays (if its like the original poster, but thats not likely OEM) or at the fan control module where you should be able to unplug them. ill take a look outside in the car, but they are right in the top of the radiator, you may have to pop off the top plastic cover between/above the headlights.

[Traxx33]

the fan wires will end up at those double relays (if its like the original poster, but thats not likely OEM) or at the fan control module where you should be able to unplug them. ill take a look outside in the car, but they are right in the top of the radiator, you may have to pop off the top plastic cover between/above the headlights.

Thanks! I’m currently attempting to take the bumper off to replace the temperature pressure sensor anyway and will test the fan as well.

[Traxx33]

I replaced the Temperature Pressure Sensor (G395). The AC fans inside the car started blowing air but still not getting cold. I also found that my larger Radiator fan is still not coming on.

[damedolla]

Thanks to everyone for sharing their input and similar situations. Here's what I found (Pics Coming soon). So those double relays which actually piggy back each other has a line I'm guessing power source that runs through into the Plenum fuse box drivers side. Then goes down to the fuse box on the side of dash by driver's door. I tested fan (working) also tested both relays (ok). My next step was tracing that pesky wire and voila. The wire was connected (tapped into) to the fuse which is the smart power 15a fuse. The wire broke off the connector because there was limited space in the fuse box. Went to Autozone 2$ bought me a new connector and fan is now working again. My next problem though is that being that this was some sort of hack only the smaller fan works and it is constantly on. That's better than having no fan at all and red lining but is this safe. Also is there a way to go back to the OEM setup this seems a little Janky . Pictures coming soon I would love to help as others have helped me Thank you so much to all saved me $1000 in repairs

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Audizine mobile app

[estomax]

interesting, so someone hard wired the small fan (AC fan) to always be on with that relay then? It looks like there are two relays though, so is the other one for the big fan? is the wire for the big fan just hanging somewhere otherwise?

there is nothing inherently wrong with wiring the fan always on, i have done that on my race cars and its just fine realistically. The stock fan control module PWMs the fan so it isnt always running full speed, so your one downside is extra noise as the fan is always running at max speed.

For 99% of driving scenarios, the small fan being on will be enough to keep your engine cool, even with AC on. With the exception being you driving slowly uphill in stop and go traffic on a 100+F day, where it might not be sufficient. If you do a lot of sitting in traffic with high outside temps then i would work towards getting the big fan sorted too (at least turned on, maybe with a switch in the cabin if it is too loud at full blast).

Marko

[Traxx33]

I’m still currently dealing with the radiator fan issue. I recharged my AC and is now blowing cold air. It will run fine while driving but will start to overheat if I idle for too long. I finally hot tested the fans and smaller fan comes on with no problem but still nothing from the larger fan. So I’m thinking I need to replace the radiator fan but I don’t have access to a lift to drop it down. Any thoughts?? Thanks.

[estomax]

the fan assembly gets replaced as a set. i was able to do drop mine out the bottom by removing snub mount and fenaggling it out. i replaced my assembly with the cheapo amazon 150$ one, so far so good. if your big fan doesnt come on by powering directly then that fan must be bad.

[tishi]

according to ETKA, you should be able to buy those fans separately. then it cost way toooo much more than $150 on amazon. since you are getting "P1931 - 007 - Malfunction - Intermittent", check the wires go into and out of the control module J293.

https://www.jimellisaudiparts.com/sh...duct=5558770#1

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ER23KSeK14I

youtube video link above, shows you where J293 is. It is part of #1 in image below.



-tishi