NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE04-025: INCORRECT ELECTRICAL CIRCUIT BREAKER
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE04-025 on March 15, 2004 and closed it on April 27, 2004. NHTSA's investigations file lists 3 Four Winds models for it and links recall 04V-139 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE04-025 (also written PE04025)
- Investigation type
- Preliminary Evaluation The first stage of most defect investigations: NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation gathers basic information about a possible safety defect, including from the manufacturer.
- Status
- Closed April 27, 2004
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- FOUR WINDS INTERNATIONAL
- Component
- Electrical System — Wiring
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 04V-139: FOUR WINDS/CIRCUIT BREAKER, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 3 Four Winds models, including the Hurricane and Infinity
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE04-025.
try.vin does not copy NHTSA's investigation documents; NHTSA's investigation record lists the ones NHTSA has published.
IN LATE FEBRUARY 2004,FOUR WINDS INTERNATIONAL NOTIFIED OWNERS OF CERTAIN MOTORHOMES BY LETTER THAT THERE WAS A NEED TO REPLACE THE FACTORY INSTALLED CIRCUIT BREAKER DUE TO AN OVERRATED CIRCUIT BREAKER BEING INSTALLED AT THE FACTORY.THIS ISSUE REPORTEDLY AFFECTS THE 110 VOLT (HOUSE CURRENT) SYSTEM OF THE COACH AND WOULD SUBJECT THE WIRES TO EXCESSIVE AMPERAGE AND OVERHEATING AND POSSIBLY CAUSE A THERMAL EVENT, INSTEAD OF ACTIVATING THE CIRCUIT BREAKER AND INTERRUTING THE CURRENT FLOW IN THE EVENT OF A CIRCUIT FAULT BEING DETECTED IN THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM.FOUR WINDS HAS AGREED TO INITIATE A SAFETY RECALL AND REPLACE THE BREAKERS ON ALL THE AFFECTED MOTOR HOMES WITH ONE OF PROPER AMPERAGE.THE ACTION TAKEN BY FOUR WINDS RESOLVES THE ISSUES RAISED BY THIS INVESTIGATION.A COPY OF THE RECALL IS ATTACHED.ACCORDINGLY, THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE04-025. A listed model year means only that an investigation names it; it says nothing about any particular vehicle. Model years with a try.vin recall page link to that page's NHTSA investigations section.
Four Winds
All Four Winds recallsWhat an NHTSA investigation is
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation (ODI) looks into possible safety defects in vehicles and equipment, often after owner complaints. An investigation usually starts as a Preliminary Evaluation, or as a Recall Query when it concerns whether an existing recall covers the right vehicles or fixes the problem, and ODI can upgrade it to a more detailed Engineering Analysis. A Defect Petition asks NHTSA to open an investigation, and Audit and Equipment Queries are administrative investigations into whether companies complied with federal vehicle safety requirements, such as reporting, recall and certification rules.
An open investigation is not a finding that a safety defect exists, and NHTSA can close one without a recall.
To see whether a specific vehicle has an open recall, enter its VIN at nhtsa.gov/recalls.
Free VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE04-025
Investigation details come from NHTSA's investigations file, which try.vin imports once a day. The investigation types are described from the U.S. Department of Transportation Inspector General's May 2023 report on NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation, NHTSA's petition rules (49 CFR Parts 552 and 557) and NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation procedures. How try.vin reads NHTSA investigations.