Automotive Auto Shutdown Relay Is Hot

OK, I finally got to take the amperage reading.  I purchased a 0 to 60 amp dash gauge very much like the one hotwaterwizard posted.  I removed the 20 amp fuse for this circuit like dualsport suggested and ran some modified wire clips in it's place with wires crimped to the clips which then runs to each of the terminals on the amp gauge.  Started up the engine with the fuse installed first, until I felt the relay get hot.  I then turned off the ignition switch and again removed the fuse and installed the clips in it's place.  I then started up the engine and checked how much amps the system was drawing.  It is drawing somewhere between 17 to 19 amps.  Again, this is for the Auto Shutdown System.  Right next to this relay is the fuel pump relay.  It too gets hot, not as hot as the Auto Shutdown relay, but I think probably hotter than it should be.  I ran out of time today, however, tomorrow I will be checking to see how many amps that system is drawing as well.  As for the Auto Shutdown relay, does it look like I should split the load by adding in another relay to share the load?  Let me know what you think.  Thank you for your support, Tommy. 

Did you do what Hotwaterwizard suggested and try to find out what the current rating of that relay is? Might be marked on the relay- if it's not rated for a high enough current rating, it'll have a larger resistance across the contacts, and dissipate more heat as all that current flows through it. If the condition of the relay is marginal and has high contact resistance, it'd generate more heat also. If your fuse is rated for 20A, and you're measuring 17 to 19A, it's safe to assume the relay wasn't expected to handle that much. They usually wouldn't design it with fuse values that close to the operating range, so it was probably meant to handle lower current. Since your setup is modified, and expect more current, you could parallel another relay across the existing one to share the load, as mentioned-

Yes, I looked at the relay and there are no ratings listed on it.  It is an Omron brand.  These are the numbers I found on it:  21911C and 05269988AA.  I tried looking on line and could not find any info on it.  Help me to understand how sharing the load with another relay works?  If I added another relay by using the parallel method, would that resolve the amperage draw problem?  The 2 relays would still be operating off the same 20 amp fuse.  By adding a second relay in parallel, would that lower the amperage draw within the circuit?  I would think the amperage draw would still remain the same.  I can see that the relays would run much cooler being that they are sharing the load.  If the amperage remains the same, what other options are there that will lower the amperage reading on the 20 amp circuit?  Thank you, Tommy. 

hotwaterwizard wrote: Relays that stay on most of the time stay hot anyways. The coil disipates heat and warms up the relay from the friction of the electrons flowing thru the wire.  You may be worrying for no reason. LETS SEE IF WE CAN FIND OUT WHAT THE NORMAL OPERATING TEMPERATURE IS ON SOME COMMON TYPE RELAYS UNDER CONTINUOUS DUTY.

Yes, I hope you find something.  Thank you, Tommy.

Not sure if you were planning to use the same fuse line or not, but don't forget the supply side of the relay has limitations on current also; you may want to run a separate fused lines for the extra relays. If your original line with the 20A fuse is now having to supply 19A on a regular basis from your modifications, the wiring and any other connections may be overloaded also, not just the relay.

dualsport, yes, the company who fabricated my engine harness is now putting together a 3 relay pack with separate fuses.  Once installed, I'll check the amps draw for every circuit, including the existing circuit.  Hopefully this 3 pack relay assembly will resolve the overloading problem.  Thank you for your support, Tommy.