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If your kid is turning out to be a speedster, there is one simple technique you can employ to upgrade 12v ride on to 24v…..read everything about the upgrade below..
True story: When I was young, we had a 12v “power wheels” Jeep wrangler that was originally annoyingly slow.
One summer, my dad stuffed 2 car batteries into the thing making it 24-v system and then upgraded its motors with ones he had salvaged off a scrapped test bench (from his work).
Oh boy…That thing became a ripper of a ride- great time we had and beautiful memories to cherish (and we had a couple crashes too!)
Now, if you’re an enterprising parent, you can do the same and become the hero to your little ones.
So, our intent in this article is to show you how to make your kid’s favorite ride a beast.
How to upgrade 12v ride on to 24v– step by step guide
What you’ll need to upgrade 12v ride on to 24v
Here now are the supplies you’ll need to add another 12v to your kid’s power wheel car to make it 24v.
- A pair of 12-volts/12 amp hour batteries such as these (they come at a nice price and hold charge great).
- 16 gauge awg wire-Buy enough length to mount your two batteries where you decide.
- A set of terminal connectors.
- Terminal crimps.
- Wire crippers.
- Your 12 volt power wheels battery charger.
Also, have a voltmeter with you.
Preliminaries
We are using the above aftermarket batteries to save money- the OEM batteries are way expensive in our opinion.
So there is a small problem we need to solve: We must remove the 12v battery connector from the manufacturer battery (assuming it is already run down)- the idea is to use it on our new cheap alternative batteries rather than doing a more complicated adaptation which may mean an extra expense.
Here is a helpful video to give you an idea of how to do this.
Don’t forget that we want the two batteries fully charged so go ahead and charge them fully.
The last thing we need to point out is that you probably need to be creative when it comes to modifying your power wheels to fit 2 batteries- There are no hard rules so just find the best way.
Step 1: Make a wire to connect the batteries in a series
The trick to sum the voltage from the two batteries to make the system 24v is to have the two batteries connected in a series.
With that in mind, you’ll now cut a long enough wire (based on how you have chosen to mount the batteries).
Next, both ends of the wire should be stripped and a female connector attached to each end.
The final step is crimping the connectors on.
If you can’t see the logic, we go the series way since it sums the voltage of two batteries together while maintaining the same amperage/current.
Connect the batteries and test voltage
- With the wire you have made in the previous step, connect the -ve of the first battery to the +ve of the second battery.
- Next, connect the +ve of the first battery to the +ve probe of your voltmeter.
- Lastly, connect the -ve of the second battery to the -ve probe of your voltmeter.
Now check if the voltmeter is reading 26+ volts (each fully charged typically outputs 13+ volts).
If so, we can move on to the next step- installing the batteries into the power wheels.
Install the batteries into the car
Assuming you made the required modifications to fit your 2 batteries, proceed to remove the voltmeter probes and install the batteries into vehicle, of course, with the terminals facing up.
The connections from the power wheels to the batteries are straightforward: Connect +ve to +ve (connect the open +ve car connection to +ve of the first battery) and -ve to –ve (connect the open -ve car connection to -ve of the second battery).
Now use the circuit series connection wire to connect the 2 batteries. You connect the +ve to -ve of the batteries.
Voila! You have now completed your upgrade connection circuit and the voltage upgrade should work well.
Source: instructables.com
Alternative trick: Upgrade 12v ride on to 24v using a ready-made conversion kit
If you find the process of adding a second battery a little cumbersome, we suggest you buy this made-for-you 24 Volt Conversion for 12 Volt Power Wheels kit and follow the instructions.
This kit quickly converts any 12 volts battery “Power Wheels” to 24v and lets you to downgrade back to 12-volts whenever you want.
It should increase the run time by about 33% over its stock battery, last longer, and includes a 24-volt charger that recharges the batteries in about 6 hours.
Plus, there is an indicator light to alert you when 2 joined batteries are fully charged and a conditioner so you won’t damage the batteries (over the winter).
Most importantly, it gives your power wheels way more power (and speed) without killing it.
Perhaps using the kit is much easier than strapping a car battery to the power wheels and holding it with a belt- My dad had, at first, tried to do this!
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
If I convert a 12-V ride-on to 24v using two 12 volts batteries in a series, will the 12v charger work?
It is best to charge by connecting a separate 12v charger to each battery if they’re in series as in this project.
This is, in all likelihood, the best method to be sure that each of the batteries is completely recharged.
Image source: https://www.nyc-arecs.org/
Will installing a 24 volts battery in a 12 volts power wheels burn up its motor?
In general, the 24 volts is often too much for a power wheels designed for 12 volts- the 12v motor is really known to give up in about 2-3 months.
For that reason, if you’re going to do the upgrade, we recommend you change to a 24v motor to be safe.
Final words
That is it, folks.
Try these steps if you want your children to drive around faster and squeeze more fun out of their ride-on toy.
And oh, as mentioned, you may also consider upgrading to a more powerful motor – you need to purchase a compatible 24 volts motor first.
Your kids will surely appreciate the lasting thrill and adventure.
PS: Visit modifiedpowerwheels.com for more resources/videos on upgrading a 12v ride-on to 24v
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How long to charge power wheels battery (everything explained)
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