Electric fan motor not coming on.

You may have a 2nd problem. Those fans should run when the car gets warmer than usual. The TDI you have is VERY good about being efficient, and produces little waste heat. Those fans don't come on anywhere near as much as a gas burner BUT they need to come on when you're really working the engine or it's a very hot day. Fan motor failure was common on these cars. With engine running turn on the A/C- this activates both fans to kick on. Do both fans kick on ? If yes- could be temp sensor, also a commonly replaced part- if no check fans. With battery disconnected (for safety) spin the fans by hand. Are they stuck or do they sound awful ? Fan motors may be shot. If fans spin free may be fan relay- check for power at fan connectors with engine running and A/C on

Check, clean and tight correctly the battery leads. If the problem still occurs remove the electrical starter motor out from the engine, repair it (change carbon brushes, bearings, ...) and install it back in place. Then test the engine. It should cranking & start immediately.
Good Luck!

check the fuses to the fans or they may just need to electric fan motor replaced

1) Is there enough coolant in the radiator?
2) Have you noticed if the electric fans are kicking on when the temp is going high? I'm guessing that they are not, the temp switch may be faulty.

volks 2001 1.8 T wolfsburgh . overheats to dangerous levels just after 2-3 min. of driving . let it cooldown an hour , drove again same thing 2-3 min. noticed fans not working , tried to crank the heaters inside , mostly cold air come in. easy fix or not?

replace the blower motor assembly. the bearing inside the motor is in trouble.

blower motor or resistor or the blower motor control switch.

IF THE POWER WINDOW MOTOR IS NOT BAD THEN U CAN REMOVE THE DOOR PANEL,FIND THE 2 WIRES TO THE MOTOR.SUPPLY GROUND TO 1 WIRE AND 12 VOLTS TO THE OTHER.IF THE WINDOW GOES THE WRONG WAY THEN SWITCH THE WIRES.IF THAT DOES NOT WORK THE ELECTRIC MOTOR IS BAD.U CAN UNBOLT THE WINDOW FROM THE REGULATOR & PROP THE WINDOW UP UNTIL U CAN REPAIR IT.

Check your thermostat and check to see if the electric motor has power or not may be a damaged wire or a fried fan motor,you can also check the fan motor by running a power lead from your battery.good luck

P2181 is a overheating engine.  
Can be:
Bad fan themoswitch, temp sensor themostat water pump impeller fan motor or fuse on battery
check to see if fans work by turning on Air Conditioner (fans should run with A/C on). Turn A/C off, warm engine, check to see if fans come on, if they do NOT it may be thermo switch on radiator on lower left side, has 3 wire plug, takes 1-1/8" wrench/socket to remove.  This thermo switch controls fans when temp reaches 195F, if fans do not come on at engine temp 190-195F try  replace switch VW part number: 1J0-959--481-A  You can verify if the switch is bad by shorting wire 1 and 2 (fans should come on when jumpered).