Volkswagen Forum - VW Forums for Volkwagen enthusiasts - 1998 Beetle Cooling Fan with Complications

Thanks in advance for any advice.

My daughter has a 1998 Beetle (since January only) with a problem that we hope someone can help us with.

The problem: Friday I heard the cooling fan kick-in after I returned from an 8 mile only drive. That's not totally unusual but hadn't been happening in the current cooler weather. Monday morning when I went to drive the car there was no electric power – not even the anti-theft light on the radio. I jumped the VW from a running car for around one hour. Actually when I attached the jumper cables the fan started up again and ran for 20 minutes. After the fan stopped it still sounded like it wanted to start but was unable, making a series of faint noises.

After jumping the car – with the cables still attached – I tried to start it. It turned over and engaged but the ignition would not sustain. I tried this several times. I tried pulling fuse 16, a suggestion I found in a few forums.

The car is currently at a dealer. They have looked at it for several hours and still can’t get a bead on the issue. As of this afternoon they were still unable to get the car started and running. They are stymied for a couple of reasons that my daughter didn’t know when she bought the car: The computer cable/plug-in has been replaced with an after-market version, so the technician can’t get any readings. And the dealer technician just told me that there are after-market additions “behind the dash”.

The original problem doesn’t seem to be rare, according to a Google search. But without the computer, technicians don’t seem to be able to diagnose this kind of issues. And they aren't even sure where to begin looking.

Is this something anyone might have a suggestion (besides finding a nearby cliff)?

Thank you!

Kevin

1998 Beetle - not sure of specs