Upgrading the Power Wheels Jeep

Charles has a Power Wheels Jeep that is about 2.5 years old.  It doesn’t get used much by just him, but when we have company or when the neighborhood kids are over, its not unusual to see kids piled all over it  till you can just about hear it cry in pain.

 

MG_7172

 

 

Like every other one, about 2 years in, despite good treatment, the battery started perform to only about 50% its rated capacity.   Earlier in the game, I had cut the wires to their proprietary plug, and added anderson power pole connectors Power Poles link so that I could connect and use my own computerized (faster) charger.

 

MG_7177

 

The Orig battery was a 9.5 ah custom everything battery making it impossible to find an exact replacement without going to them

 

137_2_0_0

 

In my desire to “upgrade” without actually going crazy.  I wanted run-time, not top speed.    The solution found was a pair of 10.5 ah batteries side by side on end.  This yields 2.21 times the run time of a factory battery, at about the same cost of the one they want you to buy.   Short custom cable ,and we’re good.  It worked fine.

Not willing to leave well enough alone, I had purchased some battery meters from ebay for 5$ish each.

_57

So I added a momentary push buttom, and this to the top of the battery.

 

MG_7176

 

So now at any time, Charles can check his “Gas Gauge” and know what the battery status is.

 

MG_7175

 

And it looks good in the Jeep..

 

MG_7173

 

At some point I’ll consider moving the gauge and button onto the dash, but for now, this works just fine..

 

 

Comments

No comments yet. Why don’t you start the discussion?

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.