I found a small unit with R134a (tetrafluoroethane) refrigerant on a trash pile. After clipping the copper tube the gas drained followed by pooling lubricant.
My problem has been with bypassing the thermostat (which I left on pile). There are three unlabeled pins on the compressor in a triangle. I left the black coming right off the plug going to one, and put the white on the pin where a white came back from the thermostat. The ground I left grounded to the chassis. Maybe the ground should go on the third pin?
I hoping that this makes enough sense that it will be apparent to someone with experience doing this.
Oh, and it wasn’t on the pile because the compressor was broken; first thing I did was plug it in.
to anyone who hasn't heard of this previously can try starting where I did:
Post 429241
(BillyBoy: "Refrigerator vacuum pump links", Chemicals & Equipment).