Bullet fuses and fuse box

I am sure that would not hurt.

A friend of mine (an orthodontist) used those dental rubber bands to pull the contacts tighter.

You might also have good luck using that copper electrical contact enhancer stuff.  As you can imagine, the contacts can corrode, increasing threat resistance on the contacts, causing heat, etc.

I had no problem with the stock system, but others have reported problems.

Even so, I changed mine out for a stock design, modified to accept ATO (I think) blade fuses.

Pantera Electronic sells the most fancy/capable one, it includes diagnostics.

Rocky

Another endorsement for Pantera Electronics.
https://www.pantera-electronics.com/fuse%20panel.htm

I ignored the "if it ain't broke" mantra and fixed it anyway.
Install was simple if a bit uncomfortable. Beautifully made product and Jon and Tatiana are a joy to deal with.

Considering it is a 50-year-old electronic device dependent upon good contacts, and in most of those 50 years it has probably received very little attention, I think the performance of OEM fuse panels can be easily improved/maintained with some TLC as you outlined.

My OEM fuse panel had about 75,000 miles on it when it was replaced by an upgrade ATO fuse panel. It was still performing just fine at that time.

Larry

I think that I have tried about every trick there is with the Pantera OEM fuses. The electrical system never worked better once I replaced the fuse box with one that took modern fuses.

Maybe the dental rubber bands won't break but normal ones dry out and loose their elasticity.

I've had them fall out of the fuse box just driving down the street,

There was a ATO fuse panel made by Bob Timina out of a Nissan truck part but the simplest thing to do is get a Pantera Electronics fuse panel.

Follow Jon's instructions though. The wires have different stripe patterns indicating polarity. Those silly Italians. What will they think of next?

I didn't realize that until after I installed mine and complained to Jon and he 'splained it to me! They don't call me Doogala for nuthin'!

Thanks everyone for your response. Sounds like the old system can still work but a new one is more reliable and easier on the electrical system.

...I changed-over, every circuit to Circuit-Breakers, a Long Time Ago. Nothing to 'Blow'. Never a Problem Ever Since. NO Trips. I Forget they're There. The improvement here, was separating up to 4-5 circuits, on a Single Fuse, into 2 pairs with their own Breaker.

MJ

If you retain the original system it may best to replace all of the fuses with new ones.  Good replacement fuses are readily available on eBay and they are inexpensive.  

Half of the contact surfaces in the stock fuse box become new once all of the fuses are replaced.

@stevebuchanan posted:

Half of the contact surfaces in the stock fuse box become new once all of the fuses are replaced.

That sounds like a modern proverb :-)

To a large extent it depends on how damp your surroundings are. I have no problem in Nevadas high desert but when I was a CA near the ocean, it was a constant problem. The stock contacts are unplated copper while the fuse ends are bare aluminum. So with moisture comes galvanic corrosion/oxidation and the electrons stop flowing. Decades ago the simple fix in the U.S was Busse's  pointed-end GBC glass fuses. Then Busse was sold, their glass GBC fuses were discontinued and the supply of NOS fuses dried up.

Now, many change the entire fuse box to something that uses modern u-shaped ATC or ATO glass fuses with plated contacts on both the fuses and box contacts. A few extra circuits in the replacement boxes are also handy for 21st century electrical  'essentials'. Don't forget to include the two 30-amp fuses in the little    supplementary box. Old 'Euro' GBC fuses are not easily found on the road if Joe Lucas continues to plague us.

Thanks. I can use all the advice

One of the benefits of the Pantera Electronics fuse panel is, there is an LED beside every fuse. If a fuse blows, an LED lights up beside the offending fuse. That makes it easy to tell if a fuse is blown and if so, which fuse it is. This is particularly useful if you happen to blow a fuse while driving at night.