[jeffpas]

Thanks! Since both the starting relay and overload protector start around $50 each (and probably more from a dealer) and the compressor is assumed untold millions, is there any way one can tell which is the problem?

I have heard that taking the starting relay out and shaking it, listening for a rattling sound, indicates it has gone bad.

I would assume if the compressor has broke, it would no longer heat up at all.

Surely there is some trick of the trade for determining which has failed.