Coleman Cable, Inc. extension cords

1 report to CPSC, the latest made Feb 6, 2012. A report isn’t a recall.

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At a glance

From SaferProducts.gov, released Oct 25, 2026.

1report to CPSC
Feb 6, 2012the latest report was made
Feb 6, 2012the earliest
1with the company’s comments

Brand: Coleman Cable, Inc.
Maker: COLEMAN CABLE, INCMakers, importers or sellers, as the reports name them
Product: Extension cordsCPSC’s product type: Extension Cords (code 685), in Electronics: Cables, Surge & Power Protection

By month

1 report from March 2011 to February 2012; the most in February 2012, 1.

The numbers, as a table

Reports to CPSC by the month each was made, newest first
Month	Reports
February 2012	1

How badly anyone was hurt

No one hurt 1 CPSC: Incident, No Injury

As each report says it, in short words; CPSC’s own words are under each.

The reports, as CPSC published them

Reports people made to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. CPSC publishes each one after sending it to the company named, and doesn’t guarantee they’re accurate. A report isn’t a recall.

Each report is the words of the person who made it, as CPSC published them. The company’s comments, where CPSC published any, are set apart as the company’s own.

CPSC, SaferProducts.gov public database export. Released Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily.

No one hurt
Made Feb 6, 2012, sent to the company Feb 14, 2012, published by CPSC Mar 7, 2012

The product, in the report: Coleman Cable, Inc. POLAR/SOLAR “Quadnector” extension cords with clear plastic, 4-receptacle power block. Lengths vary from 6 feet to 25 feet.

One of our employees received a mild shock from portable equipment powered from a Coleman Cable POLAR/SOLAR “Quadnector” extension cord. These UL listed extension cords terminate in a 4-receptacle power block. Investigation discovered that the shock came from normal leakage current from the equipment and that one of the extension cord’s receptacles had lost continuity to the ground pin on the portable equipment’s plug. Other “Quadnector” cords on site were tested, and 13 of 14 cords tested had the same lack of continuity on one or more receptacles. While some of the cords had been in service for some time, at least one was new and still in its original packaging. Concurrently, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) found the same issue on a “Quadnector” cord at their site and submitted that cord to CCI. CCI sent an email to us saying that they had duplicated the lack of continuity condition with the cord submitted by PNNL and offered to replace our similar cords. Our site instructed employees to turn in all “Quadnector” cords. During the collection, a few discontinued cords from Coleman Cable Systems and Electrical Conductors, Inc. (ECI) were turned in during the collection. These cords are similar to the “Quadnector” cords but have solid yellow receptacle blocks. Tests on these cords showed that they also had a loss of continuity on the grounding conductor. Tests done by us at our site on other CCI extension cords having only one or three receptacles did not find a lack of grounding continuity.

Model
POLAR/SOLAR Quadnector
Serial number
n/a
Where
Oak Ridge, Tennessee: Industrial
Who was involved
Unspecified
The reporter’s relation to them
Unspecified
As this report names them
Brand Coleman Cable, Inc., made or sold by COLEMAN CABLE, INC
How badly, in CPSC’s words
Incident, No Injury

The company’s comments, in its own words

(3/1/2012) COLEMAN CABLE, INC: To: Consumer Product Safety Commission From: [REDACTED], Coleman Cable, Inc. Date: February 28, 2012 Re: Report ID 20120206-7E2FB-2147470511 Product Description: Coleman Cable, Inc. POLAR/SOLAR “Quadnector” extension cords with clear plastic, 4-receptacle power block. Lengths vary from 6 feet to 25 feet
Coleman Cable, Inc. (CCI) received the above captioned notice and would like to comment with regard to the assertions contained therein:
“The condition of lost ground contact could be confirmed in a sample that was submitted for evaluation by the end user. Ground contact could be found and lost depending on how the plug was manipulated. The sample was clearly well used and date codes imprinted on the molded end revealed that the part was made in April of 2002. Based on the pictures of similar cords in use at the labs where the cord in question was returned from it was determined that the cords varied in age with some observed to be as much as 30 years old.* All CCI Quadnector® extension cords are UL listed and meet the required tests mandated in UL 817 before leaving the factory. They are made with recognized components as well as components and designs approved by UL after full evaluation and are 100% electrically tested for correct polarity, continuity, the presence of a correct ground path and dielectric strength in the cord and molded ends. UL specifications are very clear regarding performance, however, may not adequately anticipate life expectancy or useful life and UL listing may be mistakenly interpreted by the general public as meaning a product can never deviate in performance. Unfortunately the UL standard simply doesn’t stipulate minimum performance values after so many cycles and leaves the concept of wear and tear up to individual interpretation.”
Further to the topic of wear: 1. The connectors used in the female receptacle, like all metal-to-metal type connectors, are generally fabricated from, what may be termed, a high-performance alloy. 2. In the case at hand, the base metals employed are in the family of beryllium coppers. 3. Regardless of the metals used, gradual deformation, or creep, may occur at stress levels well below the short-term yield strength of the metal in connectors, which are permanently or intermittently stressed at relatively high stress levels in service. 4. Characteristically, creep rate immediately after stress is applied is relatively high. 5. Rates diminish with time until the creep rate becomes relatively stable and remains so. 6. This means that if the designer is concerned with long term creep performance of a connector, he must be concerned not only with creep deformation occurring in the early stages of use but also with the continuing creep rate after a stable condition has been reached and finally, with the total creep deformation which may be expected in extremely long periods of time, sic, 100,000+ hours. 7. Related to creep, is stress relaxation . . . creep data measures gradual deformation under constant load while stress relaxation data is a measure of gradual reduction in stress developing at constant strain over time. 8. Finally, repeated cyclic stressing of metal components may eventually lead to fatigue fracture. 9. Aside from the foregoing, metal connector-sections are also subject to stress corrosion. 10. A combination of stress, coupled with an adverse environment, can also lead to failure; aggressive environments containing high levels of ammonia, or ammonia-based compounds are particularly susceptible to this mode of failure.
*One cord pictured in the lab report bears a logo that was discontinued by CCI on or about June 1984.

CPSC report 20120206-7E2FB-2147470511. Submitter: Federal Government Agency Search for it on SaferProducts.gov

CPSC’s disclaimer

Disclaimer: CPSC does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the contents of the Publicly Available Consumer Product Safety Information Database on SaferProducts.gov, particularly with respect to information submitted by people outside of CPSC.

Word for word, from the disclaimer in CPSC’s export.

Sources

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, SaferProducts.gov public database export.

Released Oct 25, 2026 and checked Oct 25, 2026. Updated daily. Public domain (U.S. Government work). CPSC asks to be credited, and that no endorsement be implied.

Reports of harm are from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), on SaferProducts.gov. CPSC does not endorse Hearth Record.

Coleman Cable, Inc. extension cords

At a glance

By month

How badly anyone was hurt

The reports, as CPSC published them

CPSC’s disclaimer

Sources

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