This was helpful to understand how the fuse box is attached (and the reminder to always disconnect the negative battery cable - sometimes ya just want to rush into things)
So here's my dilemma
bought hhr about a month ago - 5 weeks in and the a/c suddenly stops working - was one of the selling points being summer in florida.
i suspected a short somewhere and after checking the freon level - good, I checked the connector giong to the compressor - yup - could get sporadic voltage readings from squeezing/wiggling the wires but mainly nothing.
Also checked the a/c clutch direct power to make sure it wasn't fried too - engages fine. So looks like i need to buy a new connector. Thing is, I was considering buying enough wire to run alongside the existing wiring and go all the way to the fuse box with fresh wire end to end. I'm not sure where to attach it to though or if i should even be thinking along these lines and rather hope the short is only near the connector by the compressor.

SECOND, my a/c fuse is weird looking - maybe the cover is gone? or someone replaced the original with this thing? being a stupid 4 pronger, i see that it's possible to easily put it in backwards. Currently, if facing the windshield, top left would be 87 and lower right would be 30? or is that wrong? Of course the numbers aren't printed on the box itself, that woul'dve required too much intelligence from GM.

 

I think we determined that the 4-prong relays, doesn't matter which way they're inserted, they function the same. If we can agree, the OP should be edited.

 

if that's correct, that's good to know

 

I found the discussion we had about this.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/www....ad.php?t=61832

The OP has now been edited.

 

great - i see soemone pulled their box apart too with pics in that thread.
I still wonder - isn't my fuse odd? the guts are all exposed, I'm not sure i've seen one like that before. I guess it should be fine with the main fuse box cover in place.
But my main concern is i'm not sure it's practical to try to connect a new set of wires for the a/c compressor directly to the fuse box where the original plugs in.
Anyone have some suggestions?
maybe i should first start with cutting off the old connector and hope the short is only near that and the rest of the wire going all the way to the fuse box is ok and just splice in the new connector (once i get it) to the existing wires.

 

For what it's worth, the fuse box I was looking at when I wrote the original post looked like the one in donbrew's post in the other thread, and RetroHHR2020's post in this thread - it had a mix of smaller rectangular relays and larger square relays. I think it had the Tyco relays, rather than Omron, but that's a little fuzzier. I know I was looking at one of the square ones when I thought it was possible to install one the other way around - that's why I mentioned that sometimes the relay body will hit an adjacent relay or fuse if you try that. The bodies of the square ones are bigger than the "footprint" of the pins.

I remember thinking that it was possible that the coil and switch contacts were on diagonally opposite pins, so that it wouldn't matter which way around you plugged it in, as noted in the other thread for the small rectangular relays. I thought I looked at the circuit numbers molded into the bottom of one of the square relays and decided that the pins weren't arranged that way, so that it would matter which way you plugged it in. But I could have screwed that up. My other half doesn't have that HHR anymore so, I can't go out in the driveway and check. :)

Truckette

 

That's a relay, not a fuse. It's missing the plastic dust cover. The missing dust cover is probably not your main problem, though.

I think it would be very difficult to connect new wires directly to the relay pins in the fuse box. About the best you could do would be to remove the fuse box from the car so you can see the four big connectors that plug into the bottom of the fuse box, figure out which one of those big connectors has the wires you're after, cut the wires a few inches away from the big connector, and splice your new wires to the ones that go into the big connector.

I think that is a good plan.

You might follow the wires from the A/C compressor clutch as best you can around the engine, either by eye or by feel; they will eventually go into some of that corrugated black plastic tubing, which will then turn into bigger corrugated black plastic tubing when more wires join the party. You don't have to pull any of the tubing open to look at the individual wires - just look at the outside of the tubing for any places that look smashed, badly cut, melted, or generally beat up. If you don't see any places like that, go for just replacing the connector at the compressor clutch.

Sometimes when somebody uses a wrench or a pry-bar on something else on the engine, they don't notice that they're squishing the tubing (and the wires inside) with the tool. Or, if one of the clips that hods the tubing in place breaks or comes loose, the tubing can rub against something that either moves or gets hot, which might damage the wires inside.

Truckette

 

thank you truckette!
Yes, i think i'll pass on trying to rip into the fuse box .

i always want to call relays fuses.... real - lay BIG fuses, lol.

Oh, and yes, with the 87.30 being diagonal, it would make it impossible to put them in the other two holes and assuming polarity doesn't matter - which it shouldn't. I've always found electronics difficult to understand - have a mental block.

i ordered a replacement connector and hopefully won't be sweating my a$$ off by next week.

 

i got a new connector for the ac compressor - cut off the end of the old one and did a voltage test - apparently the short was not near the old connector. so i went and bought a bunch of wire and have been trying to figure out where to attach the two wires to the fuse box end. - i checked the relay and swapped out with other similar relays (like the high beam one) to make sure the relay is good. tried wiring into the 87 and 30 and that didn't work to make the clutch come on... tried wiring from 30 to the left side of the diode next to it - box 20? the weird little black one that has the [ ->|- ] stamped on top... still nothing...
Does anyone know where the black and green wires coming off the a/c compressor attach in the fuse box?
this totally sux not having AC in this floriduh heat

 

Post #2 in this thread
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/www....ad.php?t=58663

Relay #30 in the interior fuse box