2002 VW beetle
Does anyone know how many amps the cooling fans run at? There is 2 fans....I can't find the fuse..and it's not even listed in the fuse box at all unless it's labeled as something else..any help will be appreciated 👍
Since we aren't going to talk you out of this, here's the answer to your question.
I'd rather have control over the fans myself...I don't like the way they operate. So will the fans be on high with the switch hooked straight up
By Brendon  Topic starter 15/07/2023 11:05 pm
I got a Tanish wire and 2 red wires one is red with black the other is red with white I believe....one red wire is thicker than other one...,so are both of those red wires power wires....or is one high and one low.......I went to junkyard and cut off some electric connections from another beetle so I wouldn't have to cut any original wiring on my car....thanks for your feedback..
That's the wrong wiring connector. That's the cooling fans wiring connector
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You want the Coolant fan control switch wiring connector on the radiator
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It has 3 wires. The thick wire is the fused Power wire
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One of the other 2 wires is for Fan High speed.
The other wire is for Fan Low speed
No I just want to use the cooling fans wiring connectors....hooking it straight up
forget it Jack he thinks we're stupid
It would be best to use a relay so the switch and wiring to it does not have to handle the full current of the fans, which is probably going to be somewhere around 20-30 amps. You'll also want to fuse the circuit.
The Low speed is a 30 amp circuit.
The High speed is a 40 amp circuit.
You'd have to incorporate a relay and a switch because you wouldn't want to run that high amperage through a switch. You'd want the switch to control a relay.
In fact, if you wanted to maintain the Hi/Low speed function of the fans you'd need 2 relays and a 3 way switch.
But it would be easier to troubleshoot the circuit and fix the actual problem than to rig a switch/relay(s) "bypass" control of the fans.
If you checked the fuses then 1 of 4 things is happening here.
1) The fan motors are burned out. (A lot of times 1 fan motor burns out and it isn't noticed because the 2nd fan is able to cool the radiator and A/C condenser and then the 2nd fan motor burns out and the problem is noticed.
2) The Fan Control Module has failed. (aftermarket costs around $50)
3) The Coolant Fan Thermal Switch is faulty. (aftermarket costs around $15)
4) (This is a problem with the new Beetles) The underhood fuse box has heat damage. (aftermarket costs around $20)
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(of course there can be a shorted/open wire in the circuit but that's easy enough to determine)
Here's a wiring diagram. If you want to test the Fan motors, the Coolant Fan Thermal Switch, the Fan Control Module, and do an inspection of the underhood fuse box, grab a test light and a piece of wire and we can walk you through it to figure out what's happening here.
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Which one is the low speed..the smaller fan or the bigger one. And what happens if I don't use a relay
There isn't a Low Speed or a High Speed fan
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Both fans always run at the same time either at low speed or at high speed
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At Low speed the Power goes through resistors in the fan motor assembly and then to the fan motors
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At High speed the Power goes directly to the fan motors
.
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If you don't want to use a relay you'll want a 12 volt toggle switch rated for 50 amps and heavier gauge wire than is at the fan motors. ((not a good idea))
Ok thanks for all the feedback it helped a lot...if I don't use the relay and just go for the switch only...will it run on high instead of low
Brendon, at this point you aren't sure that the fan motors even work
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Do yourself a favor. Go to the auto parts store and buy a test light. (you have a 21 year old car. You'll be needing it again in the future). Disconnect the wiring connector from the fan thermal switch
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Connect the test light's alligator clip to the battery negative post clamp and touch the test light probe to terminal #2 of the fan thermal switch connector
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The test light should light up if terminal #2 is getting Power from the 30 amp fuse in the underhood fuse box
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If you have Power then grab the fattest paperclip you can find and use it to jump terminals 1 and 2 of the fan thermal switch connector
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The fans should run on low speed
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If they run then the problem is a faulty fan thermal switch
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If they don't run then there's a good chance that the fans are burned out
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I put together a picture to illustrate what you'd be doing
.
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Jumping terminals 1 and 2 with a paperclip gives Power from the 30 amp fuse directly to the Low Speed side of the fan motors
if I don't use a relay
You will add a new heater to your cabin.
Nah I run a switch to a Saturns fan once never burned that car down
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Underhood fuse box:
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I'm hooking them to a toggle switch...you recommend any certain kind??
And what happens if I don't use a relay
Jack said it
you wouldn't want to run that high amperage through a switch.
Because 40A is a lot of current
Do you want to run stiff, thick expensive 8 or 6 gauge wire?
Do you want to use a switch like this to handle full current?
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Or do you want 18 or 20 gauge wire instead, and a switch for just the relay current?
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it's not even listed in the fuse box
did you check the owner's manual?
Ya I'm hooking my cooling fans to a toggle switch...just basic on off switch....any switch recommendations??
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if I don't use the relay and just go for the switch only...will it run on high instead of low
Then fans runs low speed when the coolant is normal, when the coolant gets hot the thermal switch turns the fans to high speed.
Judging from all your responses, you may want to hand this off to an auto electrical specialist.
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Out of curiosity, why aren't you just fixing what was there?
I'd rather have control over the fans myself...I don't like the way they operate. So will the fans be on high with the switch hooked straight up
That's true but High Speed is controlled by the Fan Control Module (using the voltage signal from the Fan Control Thermal Switch) whereas Low Speed doesn't use the fan control module. (from the diagram it looks like the module just monitors the voltage on the Low Speed circuit)
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And to get the fans to run in High Speed he's going to either have to use the fan control module OR butcher the heck out of that fan wiring harness and who knows how the fan control module is going to respond to open circuits. It will probably set Low Voltage codes. Probably not a big deal but why ask for problems
.
This should be fixed the right way. I think it would be easier to fix it than to "rig" a bypass
So will the fans be on high with the switch hooked straight up
@jack62 already answered that, and you can see it in one of the circuit diagrams he posted.
At Low speed the Power goes through resistors in the fan motor assembly and then to the fan motors.
At High speed the Power goes directly to the fan motors.
I'd rather have control over the fans myself..
so you want to be always driving around with one eye on your temperature gauge, and one finger on the fan switch, and you're going to be flipping them back and forth every time traffic slows down. Right. Because THAT won't end up in an overheated engine.
I want them to run constantly...I will leave them on entire time I'm driving
I want them to run constantly...I will leave them on entire time I'm driving
Then you don't need a switch and you just trigger them with the ignition.
But they should not be on all the time. Especially when the engine is trying to warm up.
And you don't need them travelling at high speed. It just wastes power and fuel , it's loud, and it wears them out quicker.
You're taking away the vehicles ability to regulate temperature. I can't understand how that's a good thing.
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I don't like the way they operate
what's wrong with the way they operate?
Back in the day the fans on older cars run all the time...thats what I want here for this car
Your 2002 beetle is not from "back in the day". Also cars back then weren't terribly efficient and didn't last too long.
Again, whats wrong with the way it is? Granted, it's a piece of junk Volkswagen of the worst era, but then why invest this kind of effort into it?
It gets me from point A to point B
have fun. Try not to burn your car down.
If it burns down I'll let you know...give me bout a week
hey I recently posted about hooking my cooling fans straight up with a toggle switch without a relay..
update: hooked it up drove car around for long time for 2 days....fans work great...no fire and no kind of issues..turn on and off fine...drove car around for hours for 2 days with no issues. Unlike mountain man Joe said I would.....lol..smdh
drove car around for hours for 2 days with no issues.
Wow 2 days. Big deal. Come back in a year.
And what exactly did you actually gain? You never were able to explain that.
A loud noise inefficient car?
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It doesn't really matter. Nothing will change the fact it's a bad idea.
And creating a brand new post just to boast ... 👍
Classy.