The replacement relay for the central control unit arrived on Mon. Tue afternoon I stopped by a cell phone repair shop and showed them what I had and needed done. Their repairman thought it would take approx 30 min and their min charge was $70 (plus $5 for tax). He had an opening and I could get it done immediately. I was thinking of getting a second est at a computer repair shop but it would've taken 15 min to drive there and even if it was going to cost $10 less (doubtfull), they prob would have to put it in the queue, so I decided to just have the cellphone guy do the job. In less than an hr, I had it back.
Here's what it looked like.
The top side of the unit. The relay is soldered on the other side where the 8 solder spots are (lower left).
Here's the work the cell repairman did. He unsoldered the relay and replaced it with 6 18 guage wires (2 are not needed for the new relay).
Here's the old relay, new relay, and plug in socket for the new relay, from top to bottom.
Wires connected to the socket and the relay plugged into the socket. The new relay is too large for it to be housed in the CCU, so it lives outside. There's plenty of room in the console area for the external socket and relay.
Now for the big test. I put the CCU back in. Fired up the engine, pushed the AC button, and checked the engine bay. The compressor didn't kick on. Shoot. I was so hopefull this was going to work and only spent $100 for parts & labor. I could see the relay lit up, so it's getting electricity.
I'm not good with electricity, so I sent an email to my mechanic explaining the situation and asking if he wants to chase the issue. I linked a good thread from RL that goes thru all the steps to track down the lack of juice. Waiting for his response.
Down, but hopefully not out.