Tried to post the photo, but it was too large.

Took relay apart - first removed th thin bead of silicon on the bottom edge and then gently pried the cover from the base by inserting very small straight slot screwdriver first on one side then the other until the detent popped out of the slot.

Looked very clean, could find no obvious solder issues ... I stupidly never learned much about troubleshooting electronics ... there were two relays inside. The first, on the left of the board, had room for two sets of contacts, but only the right side was populated (left portion was simply empty). The right set was two contacts mounted in one spring relay mechanism.

I cleaned the contacts with alcohol soaked into a small piece of paper (same process as contact points for ignition). Popped back together, sealed with silicon using a putty knife across the seam. Mounted back into connection plate. Seems to work OK for now.

If indeed the points are getting dirty and that causes the intermittent problem I was having, or if this is primary failure mechanism - i.e. the contact points get dirty or pitted, it is a very simple fix. Start to finish, about 10 minutes, most of which was simply examining the electronics.

Fingers crossed ....

__________________
George Stephenson
1991 350 SDL (200K and she ain't bent, yet)
former 2002 E320 4Matic Wagon - good car
former 1985 300 CD - great car
former 1981 300 TD - good car
former 1972 280 SEL - not so good car
a couple of those diesel Rabbits ...40-45 mpg