A fuse won't work because current drain does not increase, in fact it
goes down.

When what I call the damper cap opens up, the HV produced is softer,
not as much current behind it, but at zero beam current rises quite a
bit.

Interestingly something very similar happens if the core of the
flyback cracks. I had one a long time ago, the damper caps were
checked, the picture was narrow and the tech was scratching his head.
He had the B+ turned down but couln't turn it up to normal because it
would shut down. As usual in such a case, I wound up with it.

I took a screwdriver handle and pushed down hard on the flyback core
and the picture widemed.

That's when it really pays to understand reactive scanning, although
these modern pincushion circuits befuddle me. Even a CTC169, my logic
says when the .056uF opens the picture should be too narrow. Then you
got Sonys doing the opposite of what you think a given bad component
should cause because of feedback. Then you have coils with magnets in
them, geez ! See my thread about a new profession lol.

JURB