I wish I did have a scope aaron... I think I have a pretty good idea of what it would show but it would be good to confirm it...

this is the relay I am using:

Maplin > 6 and 12V 6A Miniature Relays

it is the 6 volt one. it says it is a "Schrack" RP420006

I had a spare so I took it apart to get some measurements. The coil is almost precisly 10mm diameter and 16mm tall and the core (appears to be steel) is 4mm diameter... i couldn't say how many turns there are or what guage the wire is but I would compare it to horse hair.

so do you think a choke might be benificial somewhere on the power side as well?