clutch relay

Which model do you have? The AJ body style, which includes the convertible version, has seven relays under the hood in the fuse box. The AC compressor clutch relay is the second from the end next to the six small fuses.

The Landau, AA body style, is like the Dodge Spirit / Plymouth Acclaim. It still had the relays bolted to the inner fender. There are three relays on the fender. The front one is the fuel pump relay and the rear one is the radiator fan relay. The compressor relay is in between those two, closer to the rear relay.

I must have teh AA body as the relays are on the inner fender. Can this be jumpered to find out if it is defective?

What's the symptom? Have system pressures been measured? To bypass the relay, jumper the two fatter wires by back-probing the connector or by unplugging the connector and using a stretched out paper clip or cotter pin between them. Those wires are the gray 12 volt feed wire and the dark blue / black wire.

The system will not operate at all unless the clutch is jumped to the battery. But if I remember, normally the radiator cooling fan starts when the air conditioner is turned on but it will not. So I am suspecting the fan relay but didn't know if that would also affect the clutch or what exactly the clutch relay does.

That sounds more typical of the system is low on charge. Look for the low pressure cut-out switch near the valve on the firewall. It will have a two-wire connector. Unplug that connector and jump the two wires while the system is turned to AC. If the compressor runs, the system is low on refrigerant.

It would not run when I jumped that connector, that is when I went for the direct power to clutch from battery to make sure the compressor was good.

What happened when you jumped the relay? Do you have 12 volts on the gray wire?

nothing happened, i didn't check to see if there was voltage there. that is when i started looking for the relay.