Well I verified that the fan works by jumping it with a direct connect
to the battery, it of course goes on high speed.  I verified that the mounts
are all ok and that it isn't "vibrating" in its housing or anything.  So I
am assuming that what my wife heard is just the fan kicking on to its
highest speed.  I also searched the archives and found reference to the
resistor behind the drivers side headlight.  Tested the resistance with a
multimeter and found 0 ohms for the longest (end to end) run and a
fluctuating value for the shorter run.  I am thinking that it is the
resistor that needs replacing.  I'll verify the operation of the fan under
normal use (warm up the engine, let it idle until the fan kicks in)  if it
goes right to high speed it has to be the resistor.  I'll check the coolant
condition as some others have suggested (specific gravity check??).
    I guess my question at this point is where do I get one of those big ol
resistors... no, let me guess...VW and bring my wallet.  Ken's web site did
not list them and I have checked a few others with no success.  Thanks for
the help on this one.

--
Dan Erlandson
Flemington, NJ
> danoer1@eclipse.net
91 VW Vanagon GL 174,000 mi
99 VW Passat 113,000 mi