Monday, August 10, 2026

Power Wheels mods....

 A shift from the normal posts.....

My child is ready for non-parent powered cars!  Enter in the "PowerWheels" era!   The first one my child has is this "RealTree" ATV.  I got it for free off of Facebook MarketPlace.  Battery is bad, no charger, and a busted handle.

I used an entire tube of Harbor Freight super glue on the handle bar.

I was able to find a lithium ION 6v battery, that has its own battery charger and management system, it simply takes an USB-C cable.  The battery is great, it does have a VERY tiny red/greed LED charge indicator light which is nearly impossible to see.  I had hopped to make an access hole or removable cover so i could see the LED, but that isn't worth it. 

The factory charger input was removed from the exterior and tucked it inside.  Purchased an USB extension cable, ran the cable outside to where the previous charger port was, plugged it into the battery, installed the battery.  I also added a rocker switch as a "master power on/off" switch.  

The machine works again!

I noticed that these eclectic vehicles have no "throttle"...it is simply an on/off switch.  So the vehicle is either at 0% or 100%.   Which means the child literally jerks back when pushing the button and jerks forward when letting off.  Also the one drive wheel always spins at take off.  

I found a Pulse Wave Modulation with a soft start & stop function.  The idea is that the the voltage would ramp up and down when pushing the button making starts and stops more smooth.  It also has a voltage limiter, so one could for example limit the voltage to say 80%.   I put the module inline with the motor....so the module intercepts the voltage going to the motor.  It doesn't work.  I verified with a small fan and a multimeter, the module is doing exactly what it is supposed to.  The motor in the ATV doesn't run.  I can only assume that motor needs a higher inrush of current.  <sigh>