Hot ignition time delay relay. Anything to be concerned about

The other day, I was working in the dash of my 1990 Dodge Spirit. My
hand came into contact with a round device plugged into the same block
where the horn relay and 4 way flasher are located. It was very warm,
almost to the point of being too hot to the touch.

The owner's manual says that it is the "ignition time delay relay."
Does anyone know what it does? Should I be concerned that it is so
warm. I had the door open the entired time which may or may not explain
anything.

Thanks,

Kirk Matheson

 

That is normal , It is used for the little lite that shines from the
steering column to the ignition key hole when the door is opened.

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

 

Thanks. That makes perfect sense.

-Kirk Matheson

 

It keeps the ignition switch light illuminated for a little while after
you shut the door, so you can see to insert the key at night. It works on
a very simple principle: There's a resistance wire wrapped around a
bimetallic strip. At the end of this bimetallic strip is a contact, which
when the strip is cold touches another contact located on a plain metal
support. When the door is opened, the interior light circuit is energised
by the door switch. The dome, courtesy and ignition switch lights come on.
Current also begins flowing through that resistance wire, which heats up
the bimetallic strip. When it reaches a certain temperature, it flexes,
moving the one contact away from the other and breaking the circuit to the
ignition switch light.

Nope. You had the door open, so current was flowing continually through
the resistance wire, so the timer got hot. That's normal. They've been
using that same timer for decades; if they were known to cause problems
because they get hot, we'd have heard about it by now.

DS