Hi all... I bought a 1996 Dakota Sport that has A/C. The previous owner wired a household light switch to turn the A/C on and off. He said the button didn't work on the head unit in the dash. I'd like to try and return it to normal and the first thing to do is get a new relay that fits into the fuse box. This is missing and in it's place are the two wires for the switch(which he justshoved in). My problem is that three auto-parts stores I called do not have it listed(say they need a part number)and my Chilton manual has no part number. Any help identifiying the part number would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

--JJ

 

That really suprises me. I would just go to an auto parts store and look for a relay that is capable for the appropraite AMPs. (I'm not sure how much).
They've got to have a relay there that will fit the truck, since those relays are a very common size.
I did visit Napa's and AutoZoes website, and while their websites (and probably in-store computers) don't specifically list those parts, we must remember that a lot of people now-a-days just go by what the computer screen says (since computers are always right ).
If worse comes to worse, go to Summitracing.com or Jegs.com, and buy a relay through them.

 

Thanks for the reply... at this point I'll just try a dealer on Monday.

If the new relay doesn't do the job, which I suspect will be the case, would you suggest replacing the head unit? I found one for $35 so it's not the financial impact but it looks kinda tricky to get out/in. I'm afraid I won't be able to reattach the cables.