The defect
ON CERTAIN HEAVY DUTY TRUCKS, EXPOSED 12V TERMINALS ON THE BATTERY DISCONNECT SWITCH ARE IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO A HINGED METAL LATCH ON THE BATTERY BOX LID. WHEN LATCHING OR UN-LATCHING THE BATTERY BOX LID, IT IS POSSIBLE THAT A PERSON WEARING METAL JEWELRY (LIKE A WATCH OR FINGER RING) MIGHT CONNECT THE GROUNDED, METAL LATCH TO THE EXPOSED POSITIVE TERMINALS ON THE BATTERY DISCONNECT SWITCH THROUGH SUCH JEWELRY.
The risk
GROUNDING AS A RESULT OF THE CONTACT DESCRIBED ABOVE COULD PRODUCE HEAT AND COULD CAUSE BURNS TO SKIN THAT IS IN CONTACT WITH METAL JEWELRY.
The remedy
DEALERS WILL RELOCATE THE SWITCH TO A POSITION FURTHER AWAY FROM THE METAL CATCH AND INSTALL ISOLATING PROTECTORS OVER THE BATTERY DISCONNECT SWITCH TERMINALS. THE RECALL IS BEGAN ON FEBRUARY 20, 2006. OWNERS MAY CONTACT AUTOCAR AT 1-765-489-5499.
NHTSA's own wording · initiated by MFR
Vehicles covered
| Model | Model years |
|---|---|
| Autocar WX | 2004, 2005 |
| Autocar Wxll | 2004, 2005 |
| Autocar WXR | 2004, 2005 |
Components: ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY:CABLES
Model years in this recall
NHTSA complaints and the number of recall campaigns for each model year this recall covers.
| Model | Year | Complaints | Recalls |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autocar WX | 2004 | 1 | 9 |
| Autocar WX | 2005 | 0 | 6 |
| Autocar WXR | 2004 | 0 | 8 |
| Autocar WXR | 2005 | 0 | 5 |
| Autocar Wxll | 2004 | 0 | 9 |
| Autocar Wxll | 2005 | 0 | 6 |
Other electrical system recalls in 2006
47 of the 490 recall campaigns reported to NHTSA in 2006 concerned the electrical system; AUTOCAR, LLC filed 42 campaigns in all.
| 06V476000 19 Dec 2006 | HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR COMPANY |
| 06V481000 19 Dec 2006 | MOTOR COACH INDUSTRIES, INC |
| 06V484000 15 Dec 2006 | GENIE INDUSTRIES, INC. |
| 06V459000 30 Nov 2006 | NISSAN NORTH AMERICA, INC. |
| 06V444000 20 Nov 2006 | HARLEY-DAVIDSON MOTOR COMPANY |
| 06V439000 15 Nov 2006 | NEWMAR CORPORATION |
| 06V421000 2 Nov 2006 | FREIGHTLINER LLC |
| 06V410000 26 Oct 2006 | SAAB CARS USA, INC. |
NHTSA recalls (public domain) · all recalls of 2006