The A/C relay, part number 8D0 919 578A (Relay "384"), is what you need. As for that relay plate, have a look at all wires on the back side of the relay plate where the HVAC relay would plug in. None of the wires should be burned/overheated, but anything out of the ordinary could indicate why the previous owner removed, but neglected to replace the original relay.

Does your high fan speed (#4) work? IIRC, the lower three speeds rely on a series resistance pack while the fourth speed does not (is fused).

Even after the relay is in, with the engine running and the A/C switched on you will be waiting ~6-7 seconds (seems like an eternity when the interior temp is ~45-50C) for the A/C compressor to begin circulating the refrigerant to "cool" the interior.

 

I am positive that the fan doesn't work on any speed. As for the relay plate - the problem is I do not have the relay socket and there's a hole instead. There ano cables at all, as if it was not mounted in the factory. I have no idea how this is possible, since the fan itself is not working even when plugged straight to the battery so it must have been used.

Also - there was no fuse in 3b Passat (at least not in 98'). I found this: https://www.2carpros.com/questions/1999-volkswagen-passat-need-fuse-box-diagram-vw-passat

and it confirmes this fact.


Anyway - I'm afraid it's beyond my skills to mount a whole new installation for the relay, therefore I am going to see an electrician. But maybe somebody has had such situation before and there actually is an explanation for this?

EDIT:

I also have to refill the coolant but even with the proper coolant level fan has not been working.

 

Which fan are you talking about ?

The fresh air blower in the cabin uses fuse #25 and does NOT use a relay.
The electric fan on the radiator uses fuses #42 and #51, and uses 3 relays.

 

I'm talking about the fan on the radiator. Afaik there is no fuse for this fan in my model and there is one relay (384) under the steering wheel (at least it suppoused to be there, I haven't got it).

 

I had a similar problem some years ago which I traced to a bad auxiliary fan control unit. There's a thread of mine here in which Steve from Chicago walked me through the points to use a multimeter on to isolate where the voltage was lost.

 

Does your car have two aluminum lines (one large, one small) running near the top of the right-hand side strut tower in the engine compartment?

Didn't some Euro-delivery B5s (3bs) come w/o A/C?

I'm thinking your Passat may have never had A/C due to the difficulty in cleanly removing the A/C harness. By cleanly, I mean the harness can be separated from other electrical sub-systems without cutting any common branches/splices (typically ground but possibly power). Wiring harnesses these days are usually platform specific.

 

Yes, I have those pipes as well as climatronic panel inside and A/C compressor. Right now, climatronic panel alerts due to lack of coolant. There is no way my car did not get the A/C in the factory.

 

The Climatronic does not report lack of coolant, do you mean lack of refrigerant.
If the refrigerant pressure is low the fan will not operate.

As for the electrical problems, it appears there has been a lot of modification.
I can't help with that without complete and accurate details of the modifications.