Zinsco Panel, Federal Pacific and Circuit Breaker Recalls: What Agencies and Courts Found

CPSC has recalled 19 panel and breaker products since 1988

The federal recall record for panels and breakers is short and recent-weighted: 19 recalls in 36 years, most of them for overheating or failure to trip, and none for the brands most often discussed online.

ECW downloaded every record in the CPSC recall database on October 27, 2026 (10,058 recalls, the latest dated October 22, 2026) and reviewed every title, product name and description that mentions panels, load centers, breakers, AFCIs, GFCIs or meter combinations. Nineteen recalls cover residential or commercial panels, load centers, meter-main combinations and circuit breakers, including AFCI and GFCI breakers.

Thirteen of the 19 recalls describe overheating, fire risk or breakers that may not trip. Four describe GFCI or AFCI breakers whose protective function may not work. Two describe shock or arcing hazards from service equipment enclosures. Sixteen are residential-type equipment; three were large molded case breakers sold to commercial buyers.

Recall size is concentrated. The 2010 Siemens and Murray recall (about 2.2 million units) and the 2022 Square D QO Plug-On Neutral recall (about 1.4 million) together hold 68.7% of the 5.2 million units. Twelve of the 18 recalls with a stated count covered 64,000 units or fewer each.

Federal Pacific Stab-Lok was never recalled: CPSC closed its probe in 1983 and a New Jersey court found consumer fraud in 2002

The official Federal Pacific record has three parts: a CPSC statement that closed an investigation without a safety determination, a federal appeals ruling about releasing the investigation files, and a New Jersey consumer fraud finding about UL testing and labels. None is a recall.

On March 3, 1983, CPSC announced it was closing its 2-year investigation into Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok residential breakers because "the data currently available to the Commission does not establish that the circuit breakers pose a serious risk of injury to consumers" (CPSC Release 83-008). The same release says the investigation began in June 1980 when Reliance Electric, FPE's parent, reported that many FPE breakers did not fully comply with UL requirements, and that "Commission testing confirmed that these breakers fail certain UL calibration test requirements."

The release cites the cost of further study against a $34 million budget for fiscal year 1983 and says staff had "insufficient data to accept or refute" Reliance's position that the breakers were safe in household use. On February 18, 2011, CPSC added a note telling electricians, homeowners, inspectors and real estate agents that the Commission "closed the matter without making a determination as to the safety of FPE circuit breakers" (CPSC).

On January 22, 1991, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled on Reliance Electric's suit to block CPSC from releasing investigation records under the Freedom of Information Act. The court called the investigation "inconclusive" and noted the district court had cleared about 500 pages for release; it affirmed in part and vacated and remanded in part (Reliance Electric v. CPSC, 924 F.2d 274). The ruling concerns disclosure, not product safety.

In Yacout v. Federal Pacific Electric (Superior Court of New Jersey, Middlesex County, MID-L-2904-97), Judge Bryan D. Garruto wrote on August 15, 2002 that "Defendant FPE knowingly and purposefully distributed circuit breakers which were not tested to meet UL standards as indicated on their label," an unlawful practice under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. The October 29, 2002 order granted partial summary judgment against FPE on that issue, and dismissed claims on sales before June 29, 1971 and claims by later home buyers (court papers, scanned copy). The memorandum treats the cost of replacing the breakers as the ascertainable loss and records that the defendants sent 48,000 notification letters in the early 1980s.

Engineering data are the main public evidence on how Stab-Lok breakers perform. Engineer J. Aronstein's compilation reports that 42% of 718 FPE double-pole breakers and 13% of 1,726 single-pole breakers he and a colleague tested failed to trip at 135% of rated current, the UL calibration point (Aronstein, 2024). The same report estimates about 2,800 residential electrical fires a year associated with defective Stab-Lok operation, with 116 injuries, 13 deaths and $40 million in property loss; the author describes the estimate as not exact. These are Tier 2 engineering figures, not CPSC findings.

No Zinsco panel or Sylvania-Zinsco breaker appears in any CPSC recall

For Zinsco, the official record is an absence: no recall, no CPSC statement and no court ruling on product performance was found. The only quantitative evidence is a small engineering test sample.

A search of all 10,058 records in the CPSC recall database (titles, product names and descriptions) returned 0 recalls naming Zinsco or Sylvania-Zinsco. The Health Canada recalls open data file (34,290 records through October 23, 2026) also returned 0 (Health Canada). ECW found no CPSC news release on Zinsco and, among the sources it could open, no court ruling on Zinsco breaker performance.

• What the record shows: Zinsco-type breakers have been bench tested by an engineer. Test results summarized by InspectAPedia report that 32 of 111 Zinsco-type breakers (28.8%) retrieved from in-use panels failed the UL 489 requirement to trip at 135% of rated current, and 2 (1.8%) jammed, as of March 20, 2017 (Tier 2).
• For Zinsco-brand breakers alone, the same summary reports a 26.2% failure rate at 135%. The page also cites a count of 98 Zinsco plus 3 UBI breakers, which does not match the 111 total, so the sample size is uncertain.
• What the record does not show: any agency or court finding that Zinsco equipment is defective, any recall remedy, or any measured fire rate for homes with Zinsco panels.

Zinsco and Sylvania-Zinsco: Panels and breakers sold under the Zinsco name and under GTE-Sylvania or Sylvania-Zinsco labels, which InspectAPedia describes as the same product design and origin. Identification is a job for a licensed electrician, who can open the panel safely.

Readers who own Zinsco or Sylvania-Zinsco equipment and see heat damage, buzzing or breakers that will not reset can report a product problem to CPSC at SaferProducts.gov and should have a licensed electrician inspect the panel. See how to hire an electrician.

Square D labels appear on 12 of the 19 recalls, five of them counterfeits

Brand counts reflect market share as much as defects: Square D and Siemens are among the largest residential breaker makers, and five recalls involved fakes sold under the Square D name.

Challenger. The only Challenger recall in the CPSC database is a November 12, 1988 free replacement program for 15 and 20 A type HAGF single-pole GFCI breakers made February 22 to April 29, 1988. CPSC said a mechanical part could detach and disable the ground-fault feature, that about 9,000 of the breakers had not been located, and that normal breaker functions were not affected (CPSC recall 88095). No CPSC recall covers Challenger panels as such. Challenger Electric Company was also named as a defendant in the New Jersey FPE case; the reviewed order grants summary judgment only against FPE and does not rule on Challenger.

Square D. Genuine Square D products account for 7 recalls and about 2.3 million units: Series 1 GFCI breakers (1988), combination service entrance devices (1999), MA/MH breakers (2002), QO and Homeline AFCI breakers (2004), F and K frame breakers (2014), PowerPact J-frame breakers (2014) and QO Plug-On Neutral load centers (2022). The 2022 recall is the only Square D recall of a stand-alone residential load center (CPSC recall 22159).

Counterfeits. Five distributors recalled 558,600 counterfeit breakers labeled Square D between 2006 and 2010. CPSC said the fakes could fail to trip when overloaded and listed visual features of genuine QO breakers (CPSC recall 08286).

Siemens, Murray and I-T-E. Four recalls cover about 2.3 million units: I-T-E load centers (1988), 2-pole GFCI breakers for spas (1998), breakers, load centers and meter combos (2010) and SolarReady meter combos (2024) (CPSC recall 10354). Eaton (2014 meter breakers, about 1,100 units) and Midwest and GE (2004 meter load centers, 2,754 units) have one recall each.

Recall counts peaked in the 2000s and recalled units in the 2010s

Seven recalls were announced in the 2000s, but the 2010s covered the most units because of one 2.2 million unit recall. Counts this small swing on single events.

The 2000s total of 7 includes four counterfeit breaker recalls; without them the decade would show 3. The 2020s so far hold 2 recalls and 1,403,910 units, almost all from the 2022 Square D load center recall. With 796 days between the most recent recall (August 22, 2024) and the database query, the register shows no new panel or breaker recall in 26 months.

The CPSC database is thin before the 1990s, and recall counts reflect reporting and enforcement as well as product quality. These decade figures describe the recall record, not failure rates.

Every CPSC panel and breaker recall offered a free remedy

All 19 notices offered free replacement, repair, inspection or a refund; most route the work through electricians or the manufacturer rather than asking owners to handle equipment.

The remedies below are quoted or closely paraphrased from CPSC notices. They apply only to the specific models and date codes each notice lists.

• Square D QO Plug-On Neutral load centers (2022): owners should contact Schneider Electric to arrange inspection by trained electricians; the inspection and any resulting repair or replacement are free of charge, and owners awaiting repair should have working smoke alarms (CPSC).
• Siemens SolarReady meter combos (2024): Siemens arranges an on-site inspection and repair or replacement by a licensed contractor at no cost (CPSC).
• Siemens and Murray breakers, load centers and meter combos (2010): free inspection by an electrician and free replacement (CPSC).
• Eaton meter breakers (2014): consumers should not open the enclosure; Eaton or the installing contractor installs a free repair kit (CPSC).
• Siemens and Murray spa GFCI breakers (1998): consumers should not attempt to remove the breaker because high voltage can cause death or serious injury; Siemens arranges replacement at no charge (CPSC).

Federal Pacific and Zinsco have no recall remedy because they have no recall. CPSC's 1983 release advised consumers with any brand of breaker to investigate why a breaker trips rather than simply resetting it, and to consult a licensed electrician when in doubt (CPSC).

What this record cannot tell you

A recall register measures corrective actions, not failure rates, and it misses products that were never recalled.

• Recall counts depend on firms reporting problems and CPSC acting; a brand with no recall is not thereby shown to be safe or unsafe.
• Unit counts are approximate figures published by firms through CPSC and are not adjusted for units still in service.
• The CPSC database holds few records from before about 1990; recalls from the 1970s and early 1980s may be missing.
• Engineering test results for FPE and Zinsco come from samples submitted from the field, not random samples, and have not been replicated by an agency.
• Local electrical codes, adopted under the NEC, govern panel replacement; see the site's code section.

The record in numbers

1. CPSC announced 19 recalls of US panels, load centers, meter-main combinations and circuit breakers between April 13, 1988 and August 22, 2024.^[1]
2. Those recalls covered about 5.2 million US units where a count was published; 18 of the 19 notices state a unit count.^[1]
3. The largest single recall, announced September 23, 2010, covered about 2.2 million Siemens and Murray circuit breakers, load centers and meter combos with a spring clip that can break.^[15]
4. Square D QO Plug-On Neutral load centers made February 2020 to January 2022 were recalled June 16, 2022: about 1.4 million in the US and 289,694 in Canada, per Health Canada.^[19][24]
5. About 700,000 Square D QO and Homeline AFCI breakers were recalled November 3, 2004 because an electronic component failure could stop them detecting arcs.^[8]
6. Five recalls from 2006 to 2010 covered 558,600 counterfeit breakers labeled Square D, 10.7% of all recalled units.^{[10][11][12][13][14]}
7. No CPSC recall record from 1973 to October 22, 2026 names Zinsco, Sylvania-Zinsco, Federal Pacific or Stab-Lok.^[1]
8. On March 3, 1983, CPSC closed its 2-year investigation of Federal Pacific Electric Stab-Lok breakers, saying its data did not establish a serious risk of injury, while confirming the breakers failed certain UL calibration tests.^[21]
9. On February 18, 2011, CPSC added a note that it had closed the FPE matter without making a determination as to the safety of FPE circuit breakers.^[21]
10. On August 15, 2002, a New Jersey Superior Court judge found Federal Pacific Electric knowingly and purposefully distributed breakers not tested to meet UL standards as labeled, a Consumer Fraud Act violation.^[22]
11. The 1988 Challenger recall covered type HAGF GFCI circuit breakers, about 9,000 of which had not been located; CPSC said normal breaker functions were not affected.^[3]
12. All 19 CPSC panel and breaker recall notices offered a free remedy; 2 of them, both commercial molded case breaker recalls, added a labor allowance of up to $300.^[16][18]
13. None of the 19 recall notices reports an injury; three report a fire or possible fire (2004 AFCI, 2004 meter load center, 2024 SolarReady).^[8][9][20]
14. In tests compiled by engineer J. Aronstein, 42% of 718 FPE double-pole Stab-Lok breakers failed to trip at 135% of rated current (Tier 2 engineering data, not an agency finding).^[26]

Rates we calculated

Get the calculations (CSV)

In short

• The CPSC recall database holds 19 recalls of panels, load centers, meter-main combinations and circuit breakers (including AFCI and GFCI breakers) announced from 1988 to 2024, queried October 27, 2026.
• Those 19 recalls covered about 5.2 million units in the United States where CPSC published a count (18 of 19 recalls).
• Two recalls account for 68.7% of recalled units: Siemens and Murray breakers, load centers and meter combos (about 2.2 million, 2010) and Square D QO Plug-On Neutral load centers (about 1.4 million, 2022).
• No CPSC or Health Canada recall names Zinsco, Sylvania-Zinsco, Federal Pacific or Stab-Lok products.
• For Federal Pacific Stab-Lok, the official record is a 1983 CPSC statement closing a 2-year investigation without a safety determination and a 2002 New Jersey court finding of consumer fraud over UL testing and labeling.
• Every one of the 19 CPSC recall notices offered a free remedy: replacement, repair, inspection or refund (100%).
• Five of the 19 recalls (26.3%) were counterfeit breakers labeled Square D, covering 558,600 units from 2006 to 2010.
• The most recent US panel or breaker recall is the Siemens SolarReady meter combo recall of August 22, 2024 (about 3,910 units), 796 days before the database query.

Common questions

Keep reading

• How to hire an electrician
• Electrical fire statistics
• Code and Compliance guide
• Electrical panel upgrade cost: what lab, utility and program data show in 2026
• Electrician Apprenticeship Statistics: Apprentices by State, Completion and Hours
• Electrician Hourly Rate 2026: What Public Contracts Show Electricians Bill, and How Much of It Is Wage
• All electrical contractor data

How we built this report

Selection: ECW downloaded the full CPSC recall database through the keyless SaferProducts.gov Recalls Retrieval Web Service on October 27, 2026 (10,058 records dated 1973 to October 22, 2026). Every record whose title, product name, product type or description mentions breakers, panels, load centers, panelboards, AFCIs, GFCIs, interrupters, meter combinations or major panel brands was reviewed by hand. Nineteen recalls of panels, load centers, meter-main combinations and circuit breakers (including AFCI and GFCI breakers) were included. GFCI receptacles, plug-in and cord GFCIs, surge devices, safety switches, transfer switches and meter sockets without a breaker were excluded. Each included recall's CPSC notice page was saved.

Unit counts, hazards, incidents and remedies are copied from each CPSC record. Where the API record lacked a count (Square D combination service entrance devices, 1999), the count comes from the CPSC notice page. The database lists the Siemens I-T-E notice under 1998, but the notice text says it was originally issued November 1, 1988 and its recall number begins with 88; ECW uses 1988. The Challenger count is CPSC's figure for breakers not yet located.

Evidence levels: CPSC recall; CPSC statement; court finding (a ruling on the merits); court record (a ruling on another question); Health Canada recall (cross-border, labeled); engineer report and insurer statement (Tier 2, not agency findings); absence of record (a database query returning no match). Court papers for the New Jersey case were read from a scanned copy of the August 15, 2002 memorandum and October 29, 2002 order hosted by InspectAPedia; the original court file was not available online.

Conflicts: CPSC reports 289,000 Square D Plug-On Neutral load centers sold in Canada and Health Canada reports 289,694; the Health Canada figure is used for Canada. The AmTrust bulletin attributes the 2002 ruling to a New York statute; the court papers show the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act. The InspectAPedia Zinsco summary gives both 111 and 98 plus 3 as sample sizes; the 111 total is reported with that caveat.

Derived metrics (counts by decade, units, shares, evidence-level counts, days since the last recall) are computed in scripts/build_data.py and listed with formulas and input rows in derived_metrics.csv.

Limitations: recalls measure corrective actions, not failure or fire rates; the database is sparse before the 1990s; unit counts are approximate; engineering samples are not random. Last updated October 27, 2026.

This report presents published data with its limitations. It is not legal, financial or investment advice.

Sources by tier

Tier 1: primary and official sources (25)

• [1] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (SaferProducts.gov). Recalls Retrieval Web Service (full recall database, JSON, 10,058 records, latest recall dated 2026-10-22). 1973 to 2026-10-22. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [2] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 88022: Series 1 GFCI Circuit Breakers Replacement by Square D. Recall announced 1988-04-13. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [3] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 88095: Challenger Electrical Equipment Corp. Offers Replacement Program For 9000 GFCI Circuit Breakers. Recall announced 1988-11-12. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [4] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 88091: I-T-E Circuit Breaker Box Inspection Program Announced By Siemens. Recall announced 1988-11-01. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [5] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 99005: CPSC, Siemens Energy & Automation Inc. Announce Recall of GFCI Circuit Breakers Used with Hot Tubs and Spa. Recall announced 1998-10-07. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [6] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 99100a: Electric Meter Boxes Recalled by Square D Co. Recall announced 1999-04-22. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [7] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 02556: CPSC, Square D Company Announce Recall of Circuit Breakers. Recall announced 2002-08-09. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [8] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 05035: CPSC, Schneider Electric North American Division Announce Recall of AFCIs. Recall announced 2004-11-03. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [9] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 05515: CPSC, Midwest and GE Announce Recall of Meter Load Centers. Recall announced 2004-11-19. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [10] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 07036: Scott Electric Co. Inc. Recalls Counterfeit Circuit Breakers Due To Fire Hazard. Recall announced 2006-11-16. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [11] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 08054: Connecticut Electric Recalls Counterfeit Square D Circuit Breakers Due To Fire Hazard. Recall announced 2007-10-30. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [12] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 08151: North American Breaker Co. Recalls Counterfeit Circuit Breakers Due to Fire Hazard. Recall announced 2007-12-27. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [13] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 08286: Counterfeit Circuit Breakers Recalled By Specialty Lamp International Due to Fire Hazard. Recall announced 2008-05-27. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [14] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 10749: Miami Breaker Recalls Counterfeit Square D Circuit Breakers Due to Fire Hazard. Recall announced 2010-08-02. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [15] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 10354: Siemens Recalls Circuit Breakers Due to Fire Hazard. Recall announced 2010-09-23. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [16] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 14134: Schneider Electric Recalls Square D-Brand F and K Frame Circuit Breakers Due to Fire Hazard. Recall announced 2014-03-18. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [17] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 15710: Eaton Recalls Electrical Meter Breakers Due to Shock Hazard (Recall Alert). Recall announced 2014-12-02. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [18] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 15050: Schneider Electric Recalls PowerPact J-Frame Circuit Breakers Due to Fire, Burn, Electrical Shock Hazards. Recall announced 2014-12-18. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [19] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 22159: Schneider Electric™ Recalls 1.4 Million Electrical Panels Due to Thermal Burn and Fire Hazards. Recall announced 2022-06-16. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [20] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Recall 24346: Siemens Industry Recalls SolarReady™ Meter Combos Due to Fire Hazard. Recall announced 2024-08-22. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [21] U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Commission Closes Investigation of FPE Circuit Breakers and Provides Safety Information for Consumers (Release 83-008). Originally issued 1983-03-03; revised 2011-02-18. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [22] Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Middlesex County (copy hosted by InspectAPedia). Yacout v. Federal Pacific Electric Co., MID-L-2904-97: Memorandum of Decision (Aug. 15, 2002) and Order for Partial Summary Judgment (Oct. 29, 2002), scanned copy. 2002. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [23] U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit (text via Public.Resource.Org). Reliance Electric Co. v. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 924 F.2d 274 (D.C. Cir. 1991). Decided 1991-01-22. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [24] Health Canada. Various Square D Plug on Neutral (PON) Loadcentres by Schneider Electric recalled due to potential fire hazard. Published 2022-06-16. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [25] Government of Canada (Health Canada and partner agencies). Recalls and Safety Alerts open data (HCRSAMOpenData.json, 34,290 records). Through 2026-10-23. Accessed 2026-10-27.

Tier 2: trade bodies, market research, company data (3)

• [26] J. Aronstein, consulting engineer (N.Y.S. P.E.). Hazardous FPE Circuit Breakers and Panels (updated March 29, 2024). Test data as of 2017-10-27; report updated 2024-03-29. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [27] AmTrust North America, Florida Region. Electrical: Replacement of Federal Pacific Stab-Lok (loss control bulletin). May 2019. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [29] InspectAPedia (D. Friedman), reporting tests by J. Aronstein. Zinsco circuit breaker failure test report (summary of J. Aronstein test results to March 20, 2017). Tests to 2017-03-20. Accessed 2026-10-27.

Tier 3: journalism and expert commentary (2)

• [28] InspectAPedia (D. Friedman). FPE Federal Pacific Electric class action lawsuit settlement notice, New Jersey (text of the court-directed class notice). Notice deadline 2005-04-20; settlement reported May 2008. Accessed 2026-10-27.
• [30] InspectAPedia (D. Friedman). How to report failures of Zinsco electrical panels and GTE-Sylvania-Zinsco circuit breakers. Undated page, accessed 2026-10-27. Accessed 2026-10-27.