Replacement Fuse Box

h00kem · Post by **h00kem** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 11:19 pm

Anyone replaced their fuse box with a more modern blade box? Other than it not being OEM for show, seems like a worthwhile modification to improve reliability and address the limited availability of the old bullet fuses. Any pitfalls, cautions or other thoughts?

Post by **tyang** » Wed Sep 03, 2008 11:32 pm

Once you get a couple boxes of bullet fuses, what are other disadvantages besides corrosion? Exersizing the connections by turning the fuses every now and again to clean the contacts helps. It seems a lot of work to rewire the fuse panel. Would you just replace the whole harness? I've wondered how hard it would be to use one of those "Painless" wiring harni in a pinch.

Tom

Post by **330GT** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 8:43 am

It'll be a lot of work with little upside. The ceramic fuses work fine except that they do oxidize. Every year or two, clean each one and the copper contacts. A simple alternative is the glass fuses in the same shape. Their metal ends don't oxidize (stainless steel?) so that eliminates the annual cleaning.

I've also seen O-rings of the right size looped over the copper ends to maintain a good contact with the fuse.

kare · Post by **kare** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 7:28 am

At least on local part stores (Finland) 90% of the after market fuse boxes are for bullet fuses. This means bullet fuses are also everywhere and will be available for decades to come! If you can't find them I can send you as many as you'll need in a lifetime!

I replaced the fuseboxes with new ones (6.50 euros each) as one the bases had cracked and a thick layer of oxide had built upon the contacts. The new bases are 98% exact copies of those fitted after the fire in 1965 (all things don't change over time!) and original Ferrari lids fit exactly. As discussed earlier, replacing the 50 years old bases will solve many electrical problems as oxidized contact don't carry electricity very well and it is very hard to clean them properly.

http://koti.welho.com/kpietil4/kuvaa/fuse02a.jpg

h00kem · Post by **h00kem** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 9:22 am

kare wrote:At least on local part stores (Finland) 90% of the after market fuse boxes are for bullet fuses. This means bullet fuses are also everywhere and will be available for decades to come! If you can't find them I can send you as many as you'll need in a lifetime!

I replaced the fuseboxes with new ones (6.50 euros each) as one the bases had cracked and a thick layer of oxide had built upon the contacts. The new bases are 98% exact copies of those fitted after the fire in 1965 (all things don't change over time!) and original Ferrari lids fit exactly. As discussed earlier, replacing the 50 years old bases will solve many electrical problems as oxidized contact don't carry electricity very well and it is very hard to clean them properly.

http://koti.welho.com/kpietil4/kuvaa/fuse02a.jpg

Wow, the replacements look great. I'm just now preparing to get into the fusebox and see how good/bad it might be. Who did you order your replacement boxes from? Many thanks for the pics and info. Kevin

Michael Bayer · Post by **Michael Bayer** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 9:11 am

Buss makes dirt cheep glass replacements, those plus an hour in the contacts with a Dreme tool and brush will make all the difference.

kare · Post by **kare** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 3:46 pm

h00kem wrote:Wow, the replacements look great. I'm just now preparing to get into the fusebox and see how good/bad it might be. Who did you order your replacement boxes from?

I picked them up on the shelves at my local part store. I'll see if they still have em; I'm going there this week anyway.

h00kem · Post by **h00kem** » Sun Sep 14, 2008 5:02 pm

kare wrote:
h00kem wrote:Wow, the replacements look great. I'm just now preparing to get into the fusebox and see how good/bad it might be. Who did you order your replacement boxes from?
I picked them up on the shelves at my local part store. I'll see if they still have em; I'm going there this week anyway.

Thanks for the offer Kare but I got into my fues box this weekend and using a dremel tool you suggested it cleaned up very nicely. Thanks for the tip. I replaced all the fuses and it looks pretty good so I guess there is no need to replace the blocks at this point. Again, it is very kind of you to offer to pick them up for me.