Schneider Electric Recalls PowerPact J-Frame Circuit Breakers Due to Fire, Burn, Electrical Shock Hazards

News provided by

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Dec 18, 2014, 09:00 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --

www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2015/Schneider-Electric-Recalls-PowerPact-J-Frame-Circuit-Breakers

Recall Summary

Name of Product: Circuit breakers

Hazard: The circuit breaker will not trip during an overload condition, posing a risk of fire, burns and electrical shock.

Remedy: Repair, Replace

Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled circuit breakers and contact Schneider Electric for either a free replacement circuit breaker and a credit of up to $300 per address to cover labor costs for installation by a certified electrician or a handle update kit and a credit of up to $150 per address to cover labor costs for installation by a certified electrician.

Consumer Contact: Schneider Electric USA at (800) 634-8730 any time or online at www.schneider-electric.com and click on Customer Notifications for more information.

Recall Details

Units: About 62,500

Description: The recall involves PowerPact J-frame molded case circuit breakers with thermal-magnetic trip units. The circuit breakers are made of black plastic and have a three-position breaker handle that indicates whether the breaker is off, on or tripped. The recalled circuit breakers are rated for 150 to 250 amps, have interruption ratings of D, G, J, L and R. They were manufactured in two pole and three pole configurations with either lug-in/lug-out or plug-in (I-Line) style connectors.

Brand name "Schneider Electric" or "Square D" is on a yellow sticker above the breaker handle and on the top of a label on the side of the circuit breaker. A label on the front of the circuit breaker to the left of the breaker handle has the catalog number at the top. The number also appears on a label on the side of the breaker. Schneider Electric catalog numbers begin with "NJ" and Square D catalog numbers begin with "J."

A label on the front of the circuit breaker to the right of the breaker handle has the date code in the lower right corner. Recalled circuit breakers were manufactured from March 24, 2014 through September 26, 2014 and have date codes 14131 through 14395. The date codes are in the YYWWD format (example: 14131 = year 2014, week 13, day of the work week 1/ Monday).

Breakers with following catalog numbers are being recalled:

Catalog Number	Breaker Type
(N)JDX26XXX	2 Pole
(N)JGX26XXX	2 Pole
(N)JJX26XXX	2 Pole
(N)JLX26XXX	2 Pole
(N)JDX36XXX	3 Pole
(N)JGX36XXX	3 Pole
(N)JJX36XXX	3 Pole
(N)JLX36XXX	3 Pole
(N)JRX36XXX	3 Pole

Incidents/Injuries: None reported

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled circuit breakers and contact Schneider Electric for either a free replacement circuit breaker and a credit of up to $300 per address to cover labor costs for installation by a certified electrician or a handle update kit and a credit of up to $150 per address to cover labor costs for installation by a certified electrician.

Sold at: Authorized Schneider Electric distributors, original equipment manufacturers and in factory assembled panel boards from March 2014 through September 2014 for between $2,900 and $11,200.

Manufacturer: Schneider Electric USA Inc., of Columbia, Mo., and Tlaxcala, Mexico

Manufactured in: USA and Mexico

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.

Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.

CPSC Consumer Information Hotline
Contact us at this toll-free number if you have questions about a recall:
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Call to get product safety and other agency information and to report unsafe products.

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SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission