NHTSA Office of Defects Investigation
Preliminary Evaluation PE87-004: ELECT. FAILURES/FIRES
- Closed
NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation opened Preliminary Evaluation PE87-004 on November 5, 1986 and closed it on July 16, 1987. NHTSA's investigations file lists the 1982 Chevrolet Cavalier for it.
Updated daily from NHTSA's investigations file
Key facts
- NHTSA number
- PE87-004 (also written PE87004)
- 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 July 16, 1987
- Opened
- Closed
- Vehicle or equipment manufacturer
- General Motors, LLC
- Component
- Electrical System
- Vehicles and equipment
- 1982 Chevrolet Cavalier
A recall appears here only when NHTSA's investigations file links one to the investigation; NHTSA's summary or record can name others.
NHTSA's summary
As NHTSA's Office of Defects Investigation wrote it for Preliminary Evaluation PE87-004.
SUMMARY OF INFORMATION FROM MANUFACTURER:MANUFACTURER REPORTS INCLUDE 1OWNER COMPLAINT, 45 FIELD REPORTS, AND 2 LAWSUITS.NO SERVICE OR TECHNICALBULLETINS HAVE BEEN ISSUED TO DEALERS.GM REPORTED THAT ELECTRICAL SYSTEMMODIFICATIONS HAD BEEN INITIATED FOR BOTH THE INSTRUMENT PANEL WIRING HAR-NESS AND THE NEGATIVE BATTERY CABLE IN EARLY 1982 TO REDUCE THE POTENTIALOF CONDUIT ABRASION.IN ADDITION, ENGINE AND ALTERNATOR WIRING HARNESSASSEMBLIES WERE REVISED BY ADDING A CORROSION PREVENTIVE COMPOUND TO THE2-WAY ALTERNATOR CONNECTOR CIRCUITS IN EARLY 1981.
ANALYSIS:REPORTS INCLUDE DESCRIPTIONS OF UNSPECIFIED ELECTRICAL SYSTEMMALFUNCTIONS, INCLUDING BLOWN FUSES RESULTING IN LOSS OF WINDSHIELD WIPERS,ABRADED WIRING, POOR ENGINE PERFORMANCE, VEHICLE STALLING, AND ELECTRICALFIRES.NO SAFETY RELATED DEFECT TREND HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED.PROPOSED ACTION:CLOSE THIS PRELIMINARY EVALUATION.===
Vehicles and equipment listed for this investigation
NHTSA's investigations file lists these vehicles and equipment for Preliminary Evaluation PE87-004. 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.
Chevrolet
Chevrolet Cavalier
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.
Chevrolet VIN check: decode a VIN to see its year, make and model.
Sources
NHTSA's investigation record for PE87-004
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.