December 18, 2014 – The U.S. CPSC informs you of a recall involving Schneider Electric PowerPact J-Frame circuit breakers due to fire, burn, electrical shock hazards, as the breaker will not trip during an overload condition. No incidents or injuries have been reported.

The recall involves about 62,000  PowerPact J-frame moulded case circuit breakers with thermal-magnetic trip units. (It is unknown how many, if any, are in the Canadian market.)

The 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 units are rated for 150A to 250A, have interruption ratings of D, G, J, L and R. They were manufactured in 2-pole and 3-pole configurations with either lug-in/lug-out or plug-in (I-Line) style connectors.

The 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. A label on the front of the circuit breaker to the left of the handle has the catalogue number atop. The number also appears on a label on the side. Schneider Electric catalogue numbers begin with “NJ” and Square D catalogue 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 (e.g. 14131 = Year 2014, Week 13, day of the work week 1 [Monday]).

Breakers with following catalogue numbers are being recalled:

(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

The units were sold by authorized Schneider Electric distributors, original equipment manufacturers, and in factory-assembled panelboards from March 2014 through September 2014 for between $2900 and $11,200. They were manufactured in the States and Mexico.

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

Photos © CPSC