NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE06-012: ELECTRICAL PANEL FIRES
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE06-012 on March 8, 2006 and closed it on June 15, 2006. NHTSA's investigations file lists 3 Thomas Built Buses models for it and links recall 06V-136 to it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE06-012 (also written PE06012)
- 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 June 15, 2006
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- FREIGHTLINER LLC
- Component
- Electrical System — Wiring — Fuses and Circuit Breakers
- Recall linked by NHTSA
- 06V-136: ELECTRICAL FIRE, reported
- Vehicles and equipment
- 3 Thomas Built Buses models, including the EF and FS-65
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE06-012.
THIS INVESTIGATION WAS OPENED BASED ON FOUR ALLEGATIONS OF SCHOOL BUS FIRES IN THE POWER DISTRIBUTION MODULE (PDM) AREA OF THE SUBJECT BUSES.DURING THE INVESTIGATION, ODI LEARNED THATBUSES BUILT BETWEEN OCTOBER 4, 2004 AND FEBRUARY 14, 2006 WERE EQUIPPED WITH PDM?S MANUFACTURED WITH COPPER CIRCUITS THAT WERE TOO THIN FOR THE ELECTRICAL LOADS ENCOUNTERED, CREATINGOVERHEATING AND THERMAL EVENTS.ALSO, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT MULTIPLE THERMAL BREAKERS, CLUSTERED TOGETHER ON THE PDM, TOGETHER WITH HEAT GENERATED FROM THE PDM CAN GENERATE ENOUGH HEAT TO MELT THE PDM.ON APRIL 21, 2006, FREIGHTLINER FILED A SAFETY RECALL TO ADDRESS THIS ISSUE.FREIGHTLINER'S REMEDY IS TO REPLACE ALL THE ORIGINAL (THIN COPPER CIRCUIT) PDM?S WITH NEW IMPROVED PDM?S HAVING THICKER COPPER CIRCUITS.ALSO, FREIGHTLINER WILL REPLACE THE THERMAL BREAKERS WITH NON-THERMAL BREAKER OR FUSES. THE RECALL ACTION TAKEN BY FREIGHTLINER RESOLVES THE ISSUES RAISED BY THIS INVESTIGATION.THIS INVESTIGATION IS CLOSED.
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE06-012. 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.
What 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 PE06-012
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.