re: Electrical Mischief

[Sandy Duffy <sandy@pcnet.com>]

At 04:01 PM 3/4/96 -0500, you wrote:
>Sandy,
>I read your post w/ interest. You seem to be saying this guy needs to
replace his fan motor >before the bearing fails...right?

You bet.  At least have the fan checked.  These are the early signs of
bearing failure.  When the fan freezes up, its all over.  I've been getting
LOTS of E-mail about this.  Believe me this not real.

>I also get the message that it would generally be a good idea to put a fuse
in-line to the >fan.   Yes?  (I also have an 87 5K).  What size fuse should
it be?  

Yes.  The Audi god's idea of a fuse is three no 8 wires feeding the fan and
one no. 8 wire to ground.  A no. 8 wire melts at about 100-125 amps. The
rest of the wiring harness melts at about 75-90 amps.  A fuse or fusible
link installed in the ground side and  rated at 60 amps should do the trick.
The relay contacts that control stage three cooling are rated at 70 amps.
You also want to bridge this fuse with some sort of BRIGHT 12 volt light
bulb that lights inside the passenger compartment. If the fuse blows, and
you don't know it...bye...bye..engine.  (PAY ATTENTION TO THE LIGHT IF IT
SHOULD ILLUMINATE)  It is counterproductive to save the electrical harness
at the expense of your engine because it overheated due to the cooling fan
fuse being blown. ( Which BTW is the reason Audi doesn't do any more than
they do.  Harnesses are cheaper than engines, but not much)

>42 amps ...yikes!   I take it the stage 3 event you refer to is a normal thing.

Stage 3 cooling is the intense sound you hear when you have been sitting in
traffic for a while and you notice the fan come on!  Stage one and two are
much milder and you usually never hear them.

>Maybe your answer should be posted to the list?

OK... Here ya go!

>bye,
>Dave C., Columbus OH