Okay guys,

My dad and grandad have a pretty weird thing they do. After about 5 years of owning a vehicle (if they bought it new) they would go through and replace all fuses with new ones. In theory this sounds like a smart idea, not expensive but is it just plain silly?

If I thought it was worth it I would take my dads advice, he wants me to do it on my '99 since it's got the same fuses in it since the day it was shipped from Japan.

What do you guys think? Is this even worthwhile? I know that I will not get a 10hp gain out of it or anything but just as preventative maintenance/peace-of-mind?

Don't flame my dad or grandad, just something weird they do.

Fink

 

I just carry a spare set of fuses with me, but why fix something if it aint broke?

 

carry a few spare fuses sure, but changing them out? Why? Its like changing light bulbs that arent burned out....make sno snese, use them till they ar eno good anymore. I mean if nothing ever causes them to blow...you can have a fuse itself be good ...forever... just keep the spares handy.

 

As do I...that's what I am wondering. I never understood why they do it...my dad is a smart guy, a EE for that matter and he still does this.

He says its just something his dad did and now he has done it. He seriously does it every 5 or so years...I guess it's not a horrible thing to do, costs less than $6 or so but...lol.

To each his own,

I just wanted to get ya'lls opinions on this to see if he is as crazy as I think he is.

Fink

 

never heard of that

 

Haha...I guess it's just some weird OCD thing they have. My grandad is a pretty interesting fella, I love him to death but he's got some weird tendencies.

He accounts for every single penny he spends, if he can't track it down he flips out, lol.

Good ole relatives, what are ya gonna do?

Fink

 

I'm an EE also.. The theory might be that current passing through the fuses gradually degrades them..

I see no reason to do this with modern fuses.

 

Waste of money. I fues doesnt wear unless it sees too many amps.

 

I've heard of changing out fuses on high power audio systems because the current tends to speed up the corrosion at the contacts. It sounds like an ultra preemptive maintenance regime to me, but not crazy

I'd say it all depends on just how high your expectations for reliability are. If one bad fuse you could have replaced is one-to-many for you, than it makes sence to me

Erich

 

If you're gonna replace the fuses due to them wearing out, you should replace ALL the wiring in a vehicle due to wear and tear. And I wanna see anybody do that for $6 or every 5 years for that matter.

Fuses are nothing (at least from my knowledge) specifically designed containers holding a specifically shaped/gauges alloy that will break at a specific current. They are like wires, just a little more complicated.

Now, a wire could technically be a fuse itself, except it would burn and catch the isulator on fire. So, what if the wire wears down to where it won't be able to safely carry the amount the fuse protects the circuit against? What good is a fuse then? Now if we were talking about more sensitive equipment...that's a different story.

Haha, I might have gone a little overboard, but it makes sense to me. Sorry if I am bashing on your relatives, but I am just offering my own opinion. On that note, I think it's unnecessary, but it's not stupid or anything of that matter.

 

I think i tmight have been a concern when your granddad was much much younger, and so therefore may have gotten passed down to your dad, and so on, but as mentioned before with modern fuses, I just dont see the point, at all.

 

i agree for the encapsulated fuses (ATC) but old glass fuses tend to melt the weld inside the caps, as well as the vibrations work the glue loose at the glass. ive run across this in 20+ YO cars and a few in high current applications.
ive even blown a fuse and then repalced it, then the annomally disappears

 

I think this was just something that had been passed down from my grandads generation.

He told me a story about his first car, I think it was a Ford, he said the manufacutrer recommends the fuses be replaced at certain intervals so my grandad has just been doing it ever since.

Makes some more sense now.

Fink

 

Older fuses were more prone to material weakness and breakdown, but on new fuses I don't think that is an issue. I always carry fuses around...and had to only replace one in the last 10 years. Waste of effort in my opinion.

 

I replaced mine with the ones that light up when blown.

Lamm

 

Lamm, now that sounds pretty friggin cool...where the heck did you find those?

Thanks man,

Fink

 

Autozone, they cost more but they are cool!

Lamm