Cooling fan not working

[Wimpus]

Hi, i have an E46 325i touring 2001, about 2 month ago my AC stopped working causing a hissing sound, didnt think too much as winter and just didnt use it, not long after when stuck in traffic noticed that car was starting to overheat which caused the edpansion tank to split, i got a new one and replaced it, re-filled coolant and bled system, ran car to temp and made sure thermostat was working, been driving car since with no problems apart from two weeks ago when sruck in traffic again i noticed the teml needle rising again so put the heaters on hot to cool down, realised that the cooling fan wasnt coming on (i assume it stopped working the same time as AC) i checked fuses which were all fine and tried to bypass the switch with 12v supply to see if fan would come on which it didnt, i have since found out that this cant be done as there is an ECU in the switch so the is a constant supply to the fan.
Am at a loss as what to try next or if i have missed something important, is there any way i can bypass the switch to test the fan and if not, what is my next step?
Thanks in advance for any advice

[witeshark]

The cooling fan may be a clutch driven type; it may need a new clutch.

[Wimpus]

It isnt clutch driven unless there is one inside the electric motor, it is front mounted and is also used for the AC, i suspect its shot but would like some way of making sure before buying a new one

[drz]

Sounds to me like you've already checked. I guess you could check with a voltmeter to ensure that battery voltage is making it to the fan connector terminals.

I think you need a new fan. They do go out. 10 years is not a bad run for one of these.

[Wimpus]

Cheers, yeah it looks that way, ive had bearings go on fans before and thats a lot easier t diagnose but when manually turning the fan it seems fine