If you need to replace the fan, consider getting a 6-blade VW part (P/N 811 119 113 B) for about $60. It's a bit noisier than the stock unit, but pulls more air. It does not come with new screws and bolts, so don't lose the originals. When removing the old fan, note that on the lower driver's side of the fan at the very bottom of the fan shroud there is some black wiring that feeds down to the sensor at the bottom right of the radiator. Do your best not to pinch this wire and make sure on install of the new fan that you have not pulled it up so that there is not enough slack to reconnect it to the sensor. You will probably need to cut a tie wrap that is holding that wire in place in order to get at the bottom nut. Consider the following two wiring updates while you're in there.Wiring Updates
The wiring harness to the fans on these cars appears to be a bit short. Mechanical and thermal stresses may cause a failure at the wiring connectors. To fix or prevent the problem, splice in some extra wire to provide strain relief. At the same time, you should add in a fuse to the ground wire as detailed below.
In later cars, Audi put an 80 amp fusable link into the ground wiring for the radiator fan. This setup is used to avoid sending 80+ amps of 12V to the fan ground if the fan bearings freeze up . This could possibly cause an electrical fire, or at a minimum it will fry your electrical harness.Here are the Audi P/Ns for retrofitting a ground fuse to the fan wiring:
Or, you can install a generic fuse (60 amp should be fine, and it's easier to find than 80 amp). If you ever blow the fuse, you need to get a new fan motor ASAP.
- 281 937 505 A = fuse box
- N 017 125 3 = 80 amp fuse
- 443 971 845 AM = mounting bracket
- N 014 128 11 = screw (x2)
- N 012 005 3 = lock washer (x2)
- N 011 556 2 = washer (x2)
- N 013 966 12 = screw (x2)
