Automotive Auto Shutdown Relay Is Hot

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chevy48

Member - Posts: 26

Joined: February 27, 2007

Location: United States

Posted: February 27, 2007 at 3:14 AM / IP Logged

I installed a Chevy 3.8 V-6 into my 2002 PT Cruiser. I'm currently troubleshooting various electrical problems. The Auto Shutdown Relay in the main fuse box in the engine compartment gets very hot. I'm thinking that the drivetrain conversion must have placed a bigger load on the Auto Shutdown Relay. It has to handle more sensors, more fuel injectors and who knows what else. I would like to add another relay in the same circuit to share the load. Is this the right thing to do, or is there a better method to resolve this problem? If adding another relay is the right thing to do, which type of relay should I use, and exactly how do I go about installing it and wiring it? Any support will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much, Tommy.

hotwaterwizard

Silver - Posts: 1,350

Joined: December 11, 2003

Location: California, United States

Posted: February 27, 2007 at 8:53 AM / IP Logged

First find out what the amp draw is.

Then read the relay specs.

If your Amp Draw is close to the specs of the relay you can add another by Paralleling all connections.

For example :

30 to 30

85 to 85

86 to 86

87 to 87

87a to 87a

John DeRosa (Hotwaterwizard)

Stockton California

When in doubt, try it out !

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chevy48

Member - Posts: 26

Joined: February 27, 2007

Location: United States

Posted: February 27, 2007 at 11:53 AM / IP Logged

I will be checking on how many amps the relay is drawing today, I'll get back to you on that. Would that reading be taken from pin cavity 30? I had no idea of how to add a second relay for my application. That is really interesting. With that wire configuration, does the load get distributed equally to each relay, or, how does it get distributed? Thank you, Tommy.

hotwaterwizard

Silver - Posts: 1,350

Joined: December 11, 2003

Location: California, United States

Posted: February 27, 2007 at 8:40 PM / IP Logged

from 30 or 87

John DeRosa (Hotwaterwizard)

Stockton California

When in doubt, try it out !

chevy48

Member - Posts: 26

Joined: February 27, 2007

Location: United States

Posted: February 27, 2007 at 9:32 PM / IP Logged

I'm either taking the amp reading the wrong way, or my tester can't handle that high of an amp reading. I'm using an IDEAL Test Pro 360 Series Multimeter. These are the settings for the ADC scale. 200m, 20m/10A, 200u. I had the selector switch on the 20m/10A scale. The red probe was plugged into the 10A input, and the black probe was plugged into the com input. I grounded the black probe to a good ground sourse, and with the plastic cover removed from the relay, I had the red probe on the cavity pin 30 location. Within a milli second a 20 amp fuse blew. So, what am I doing wrong? Thank you, Tommy.

dualsport

Silver - Posts: 983

Joined: September 27, 2005

Location: United States

Posted: February 28, 2007 at 7:16 AM / IP Logged

You connected the power directly to ground with your meter instead, so the fuse had to do its job to protect the meter from melting down.

When measuring current, the meter is effectively like a piece of wire, so it's like shorting together whatever points you attach the probes to.

To take a current measurement, you have to connect your meter in series, which means you have to disconnect the wire that the current is passing through, and then use the meter between the two points to connect them back together for the measurement.

hotwaterwizard

Silver - Posts: 1,350

Joined: December 11, 2003

Location: California, United States

Posted: February 28, 2007 at 7:51 AM / IP Logged

The 10 Amp scale may not be big enough on a Multimeter.

If the current is that high the tiny wire may fry on the meter leads.

I use a gauge I scrounged from an old fork lift with battery charger leads on it.

Automotive Auto Shutdown Relay Is Hot -- posted image.

John DeRosa (Hotwaterwizard)

Stockton California

When in doubt, try it out !

dualsport

Silver - Posts: 983

Joined: September 27, 2005

Location: United States

Posted: February 28, 2007 at 8:06 AM / IP Logged

If you can locate the fuse for that circuit, see what size fuse it is; if it's higher than the one for your meter, you'll need something like Hotwaterwizard has. I've got one of those stashed away myself, for measuring the high current stuff. :)

If the fuse is small enough, indicating your meter is good enough to make the measurement, you can just remove the fuse and connect your meter across the fuse contacts to make the measurement, without having to disconnect or cut any wires.

hotwaterwizard

Silver - Posts: 1,350

Joined: December 11, 2003

Location: California, United States

Posted: February 28, 2007 at 8:12 AM / IP Logged

Great Idea!

Why didn't I think of that?

John DeRosa (Hotwaterwizard)

Stockton California

When in doubt, try it out !

chevy48

Member - Posts: 26

Joined: February 27, 2007

Location: United States

Posted: February 28, 2007 at 12:04 PM / IP Logged

I have never had to take an amperage reading before. Now I know what I was doing wrong. Yes, the fuse that blew was a 20 amp fuse. So, I should have known that the 10 amp multimeter that I'm using is not sufficient enough to do the job. OK, to make sure I understand where I will need to take the readings from. I should remove the relay, and probe between pin cavity's 30 and 86. Is that correct? And this should be done with an amperage meter that has a 20 amp capacity since the circuit I'm probing is supplied with a 20 amp fuse. I like that amp gauge idea. I'm sure I can find an amp gauge here locally, thanks for the offer and outstanding support from all of you, Tommy.

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