Ryan'sAudiA4

What would be the cause of my cooling fan coming on as soon as I start my car, even from a dead cold?

twentysevenlitres

Air conditioning via the climate control.

Press 'Econ', or turn the unit off (fan manually reduced to zero usually does it), and see if it still does it.

Ryan'sAudiA4

I meant the radiator fan lol my bad :P

clancy

The electric cooling fan on the radiator is turned on when the cabin heating/cooling system is set to auto. That is what twentysevenlitres was saying. The air conditioning compressor is on whenever the climate system is on and not set to econ. This also turns the electric cooling fan on. Turn off the climate system or set to econ and see if the electric cooling fan turns off.

frazgsi

Thank god someone else is having this issue. ive just bought a 1999 a4 2.8 and the radiator fan is always on (the main one and not the electric one), even from cold. Driving me insane because the car sounds like a bus.

Ryan'sAudiA4

Its still on after I turn off the climate system.

David.Norton

The engine driven fan should always turn, however there is a clutch on it that tightens up as the engine gets warm. With the car cold and the engine off you should be able to turn the fan by hand, if you cannot you have a bad fan clutch.