Video

Nice!

Check out the video description for links to the parts I used.

Thanks!

Good idea, huh? I am thinking about making these and other files available soon.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Nicely done!

Nice!

Nice! Thanks!

Thanks!

No, you don't have to. It functions as a master switch. So I could let my kids leave the battery in, but teach them to turn it off so it wouldn't drain the battery from the small LED that is in the voltage regulator/motor controller.

I'll do a test soon to get more exact numbers. Estimates are around 20-30 minutes for a small battery, and 45 min or so for a larger one. I don't have specifics because it will vary by the motors and size of the battery obviously, but also how hot or cold it is outside as well as how old the battery is. The really nice part is that if you have multiple batteries, they can be swapped out in no time and one can be charging while another is used. Makes for almost unlimited time.

Yep. I put the fuse right after the battery so the other components are protected. If you have a remote control based version, the overall wiring may be different for you. I don't have a version for that yet.

Get the switch. As stated, if the battery is left connected it will keep draining until it does to the point of not charging. I used this link and saved two of my cheaper non name brand batteries. m.czcams.com/video/XklpbyQIeFA/video.html

Adding the switch was a way I was trying to prevent that. That or remove them when not in use so they don't get slowly drained beyond the point where they can be recharged.

Thanks for letting me know. Any DC rocker switch should work.

Drill charger

I am removing it and charging it through the drill battery charger. I would not recommend trying to charge it another way.

Nice work!

It depends on the size of the battery. If I run it with a 4 or 5 amp hour battery, the kids can usually get a solid 45 min out of it. Having multiple batteries available and charged up though makes it easy to get more use by switching the batteries out quickly. That's one of the biggest benefits in my mind.

Could be a bad controller or loose wire

Tough to say without seeing the wiring diagram. If you have a remote control system, this could be the culprit - those systems are wired differently.

I believe the radio is a separate battery.

Original was for rated at 12V. Good luck with the upgrade!

Depends on the battery size. A 4 or 5 amp hour battery can give the kids a good 45 min runtime on level ground. The big benefit is having several around that can be charged up and making it really easy to swap out and keep going.

Considering those 20v drill batteries are around 6amp hours and typically draw less than 10amps actively.. yeah. Way too high to protect anything. A 13 or 15 fuse would be about perfect.

I keep blowing my 30 amp fuse . Trying to figure out a way to fix it.

I can help answer questions if you have any.

Nothing outside the video yet. I'm working on a website and will plan to add one there. Still TBD on when that will be up.

There's links in the comments and I talk about the parts needed around 1:20.

Looking for the same info

Depends on the battery size. A 4 or 5 amp hour battery can give the kids a good 45 min runtime on level ground. I have not done a full time test to compare the difference, but the original battery seemed to be close to 10 mins if I was lucky. The big benefit is having several spare batteries around that can be charged up and making it really easy to swap out and keep going.

Nice! Good suggestion.

I did this with my Son's and the batteries have died can't recharge. Thanks!!

I have not had issues with the internal fuse popping. If you have a 30amp controller and a 30amp fuse between it and the battery, the fuse should be the one to pop first.

I have the same problem with the 30amp fuse in the controller.

I have the exact same problem. Sometimes the fuse lasts for a while, other times it does not. And it really doesn't matter where I have the dial turned to. Any ideas?

Great question! In most cases, the power runs through the controller on the car (which contains the receiver from your remote's signal). When this happens, it's likely that the other components like the radio and speakers are also affected by a change in voltage. These may not be as big a deal, but if the voltage to the receiver is affected, which is likely, then you will probably face a problem with it working. In theory, a way to work around this is to maintain the power to the controller on the car so that it is not affected and then separate the increased power to the motors only. The challenge here is that the relays which control the motor voltage being applied are also on the controller so they would need to be identified and somehow transferred as well. Once again, just in theory - I have not done it myself, nor do I have a video showing how to do it. That being said, I've considered working it out and making a video for just that. Is it worth it?

@@TheWorldIsOurLab thank you so much for your reply! If you could that would be amazing! I attached my 12 amp dewalt flex battery to it and the controller started smoking, this is how I figured it was to much power haha. I ordered another controller and now just trying to figure out myself how it works but I think you will have a lot more success then I’ve had.

Sorry that’s happening! It’s hard to say what could be wrong without seeing it. Where I’d start to figure it out is tracing all the wires and figuring out where all of them go. Then figuring out whether the wires that go to the pedal are connected incorrectly. Also, if you have a remote control, it’s possible that there’s another issue going on, but that’s a little more complex.

This is a great question - something pretty common. You could increase the size (I would not recommend something over 40A). The bigger the allowable amps, the higher the possibility for burning something out at the motors. The important part is to understand why the fuse is popping. The motors will essentially draw as much current as they need to keep rotating. If the resistance against the motor turning increases, it requires more torque to overcome which means more current and power. In my experience, as long as it was driven pretty normally on flat ground by kids who were not too heavy, there was no problem. However, get a hill, someone grabbing it and dragging their feet or kids too big, and I would pop fuses left and right. Also, making sure there’s nothing else the wheels could be rubbing on could help too. Hope that helps!

@@TheWorldIsOurLab Thanks man. Great advice. I’ll bump up to 40a and tell the kids to lay off the twinkies. 😁

Hahaha!

How has this worked out for you? From what I’ve read, 30A fuses are too high for the gauge wiring on these battery docks. I tried a 30A fuse with my car on “jacks” for testing and had smoke coming from the wires. This project is starting to cost me in fuses.

@@BRoop89 30amp fuses blow very quickly, especially with my 10yo son. The younger kids get a little more time but still pop the 30a when driving more aggressively. 40a is a big improvement, and I just watch the wiring/battery more carefully. All is normal, but even 40a doesn’t last too long. Just depends on conditions. Not sure I want to try 50a - too much risk to battery. Good luck.

Thanks!

Thanks!

Awesome! I’m glad it worked! You could do it with a 40 volt, but the chances of you burning out a motor or other component go up quite a bit. For example, if the motors were rated for 12VDC at 3.5A (42 W), then increasing the voltage to 40V would increase the possible power load almost 4x to around 140 W. That’s not to say it would, just increase the chances (assuming everything else stays the same). I’m simplifying some since motors will draw what current they need to achieve torque, so there’s a chance that the actual power the motor sees is more or less than that at any given time. Hope that helps you consider it a little more.

Good question. If I was troubleshooting it, I’d start in this order: 1) Double check all wiring connections. 2) Confirm the battery has charge. 3) Check the fuse - make sure it’s good. 4) Confirm the motor controller is operational (voltage in and voltage out) 5) Confirm gear selector is working As far as upgrading, I don’t have a specific recommendation… yet. For now, maybe look for a direct replacement.

If you used the silver speed controller, it’s common for the internal mini fuse for that to burn out, even if your other main fuse is fine.

@@DadHacks Thanks for adding this - also true, especially if your original fuse was over the current rating for the speed controller.

@@TheWorldIsOurLab use the motor from a 20v drill and speed control?

Great question! Not seeing it, I can’t say for sure. However, there’s a good chance you could if it is similar to the other brands. Good luck with it!

@@TheWorldIsOurLab thank you

The motor controller is not necessary, but I’d recommend it. It controls the voltage that goes to the motors which directly affects the speed the motors turn and thus how fast the car can go. I added it in to be able to regulate different speeds depending on which child was driving it.

@@TheWorldIsOurLab could that be the reason I keep blowing fuses

​@@southtexasfishing1252 Ours came with a 12v system and all I had to do is add the connector kit which has a fuse. It runs off the 20v 5ah batteries. I'm no electrician, but you might need to beef up the voltage of your system. We haven't blown a fuse yet, and he drives it for the duration of 2 batteries just fine.

Motor control is not necessary unless you have an old model power wheels that has the original motor. They can only handle around 15 volts. The new ones can handle 24 volts with low amp draw... I have set up several of these. The best combo so far has been with two 18 volt Milwaukee M18 8.0 batteries.. I run the batteries parallel not in series.

If you are talking about the front wheels for the car, those are riding lawn mower replacement wheels which we swapped out. I may be doing a video on that process later.

Cool! Good luck on the project! I have not had any issues with the batteries so far.

Glad to hear! I would recommend the motor controller, but it is not needed to get the motors turning. It only controls voltage which translates to faster or slower speeds depending on what speed you want it to go. The fuse is important to keep from overloading the current and burning things out.

@@TheWorldIsOurLab thank you

You lost me at the mother controller connection. I can't tell what is hooked up to what

Sorry to hear that, would a diagram be helpful?