Anyone want to help modify a Radio Flyer Model S?

[David.85D]

Mine came in one package. Did you pick some accesories (i did not)? Perhaps they ship separately?

 

[insaini]

I did not as it did not let me to pick any accessories with the referral code. Hmm strange.

One package is being delivered tomorrow and one is being delivered today. One is 5 pounds and the other is 1.5 pounds.

 

[David.85D]

Somethings not right. The car is 60 lbs...

 

[insaini]

just the battery was delivered ... .. i guess batteries are delivered seperatley? But I wonder whats in the second package at 1.5 pounds that is coming tomorrow? And where is the actual car hmm ...

Anyone else in Canada get this referral prize and had a similar experience?

 

[HankLloydRight]

Did you order the Mini-Mini-Tesla?

 

[David.85D]

 

[iandkirby]

I just put rubber bands around the wheels. Heads up - it's sketchy as hell, because the traction is so good, they can literally drive 'over' other children....the crap wheels are definitely safer and we just left it as it was. too many kids around.

 

[GSP]

I would include an "idle validation" switch in the accelerator pedal. This switch would shut off the motor when the pedal is at idle regardless of the potentiometer position. This provides a safety override for potentiometer and wiring failures.

I also would add a brake pedal switch to shut off the motor when the brake is pressed.

Even though this is a low speed vehicle, there could be terrible consequences if a child cannot stop the vehicle.

GSP

 

[dduffey]

I modified a Barbie Power Wheels Jeep. It is dual motor and the high low switch just puts them in series or in parallel.

I started by jumping to 24V using two deep discharge lead batteries (14Ah) in series. I then added a variable drill switch pedal, but it fairly quickly burned out. I then added a brake pedal by just sourcing another "go pedal" and wiring it up such that if you press the brake it shorts the motors and if you release the gas it will coast (so no longer fully on fully brake, it is controllable).

That worked really well. But then I started using an 18V lithium drill battery for ease of charging. I added a second in series to 36V which was a lot of fun but honestly too dangerous. So now it is back to two in parallel at 18V.

Next on the list is to add working headlights and eventually the wheels will go as they are already starting to wear through and crack from the donuts.

 

[dduffey]

Here is 24V with brake pedal. I also drilled air vents to passively cool the motors although they weren't hot to the touch.

David Duffey

 

[tsui_san]

I bought a couple 12V 18Ah batteries and hoped to plug in directly into the battery input line. After I connected the car to the new power source and pressed the pedal there was no response from the car. When I reverted to the stock wiring and battery setup the car worked as expected. Here are pics of my battery setup and how I wired it to the car. The one difference is that there is a black wire from the stock battery circuit board that I have no idea what it's for. I followed it to the front of the car and I thought it was used to power the LED headlights. But somehow the car doesn't run with my new power source as expected. The wiring seems to be more complex than expected. Help!

 

[bmah]

Moderator note: I’m not sure where this thread belongs, but it didn’t seem right in the sub-forum where people discuss ordering Model S. Putting it in the top-level Model S section for now.

Bruce.

 

[whitex]

I just put rubber bands around the wheels. Heads up - it's sketchy as hell, because the traction is so good, they can literally drive 'over' other children....the crap wheels are definitely safer and we just left it as it was. too many kids around.

I remember long time ago my son getting ran over by his own electric car (he let his sister and her friend drive it). No rubber bands, but the momentum still knocked him over and the front wheels went on top of him. My wife starts running to help but before she got there, my son got up but in the process flips the car backwards - it was comical to watch (pssst... don't tell my wife). Nobody got hurt btw.

If your child is at an age where they will drive over kids, don't mod the car to make it faster, heavier, or have more traction. If you have a more mature kid, then sure, but don't forget brakes if you make the car faster (the original ones don't have brakes - "regen" doesn't stop that quick). At some speed you'll probably want seat belts too, then helmets, etc, etc. Before you know it, you got yourself a full fledged electric go-kart!

 

[Don85D]

This thread is going in the wrong direction as kids don't need a faster toy car. We had a Jeep version for our grandkids and it was important that I could walk beside them (low gear) to take control if necessary while they learned to drive. Later then they were more skilled the spinning rear wheels limited the launch and made for fun sliding stops in a parking lot. Mostly we used that Jeep for parking practise to learn the skills of backing up into a parking space.

If speed and driving skill is the requirement wait until they grow up and get a Go kart that can be raced at a track.

I see no advantage is making a toy electric car faster. My thoughts for your consideration.

 

[ricebucket]

Here's a mod idea that I want to do (as I have no kids): turn the car into a big radio control model.

Might not be too hard I think? Radios/servos should be readily available for those that build R/C cars. But I've never built a R/C car before so I'm not sure the specifics of how this would work. Anyone else interested?

 

[jjh1234]

 

[tsui_san]

This thread is going in the wrong direction as kids don't need a faster toy car. We had a Jeep version for our grandkids and it was important that I could walk beside them (low gear) to take control if necessary while they learned to drive. Later then they were more skilled the spinning rear wheels limited the launch and made for fun sliding stops in a parking lot. Mostly we used that Jeep for parking practise to learn the skills of backing up into a parking space.

If speed and driving skill is the requirement wait until they grow up and get a Go kart that can be raced at a track.

I see no advantage is making a toy electric car faster. My thoughts for your consideration.

You're entitled to your opinion gramps but you have no idea of how I plan on having my kids use this car, our ages, or any info whatsoever. I'm simply looking for like-minded individuals for a knowledge exchange, similar to other Power Wheel owner forums. I assumed that since we are all Tesla owners that we are somewhat technically inclined and like to tinker but also like fast cars. For you to think that I don't have my kids' safety is absurd. What I'm finding out is that this is actually new ground for folks and I will be left to explore possible modifications on my own. I will share any findings/experiences to this group in case there is interest.

Those are my thoughts for consideration.

 

[Don85D]

I have nothing more to offer. The fact that you listened and replied is sufficient.

I'm sure that you will make the right decision for your kids and grandkids.

 

[dduffey]

The one difference is that there is a black wire from the stock battery circuit board that I have no idea what it's for. I followed it to the front of the car and I thought it was used to power the LED headlights. But somehow the car doesn't run with my new power source as expected. The wiring seems to be more complex than expected. Help!

So, this is just a guess but the black wire could be for thermal management. Pb batteries are more forgiving but other chemistries need to be managed by there particularly during charging.

Just a note you should probably not use the stock charger since these are different batteries. Alao I have not seen a Model S power wheel so I have no idea how it is out together so take everything I say with a grain of salt.

What is the stock batter voltage? It could be there is a controller in the car that is monitoring voltage and thermals?

A few things you could try:

1. If you disconnect the black wire in stock battery/wiring does it stop working?

2. Can you match voltage (i.e. go down to one 12V, not in series). Depends on stock battery voltage and that could be 6, 12, or 18.

3. If you can match voltage and it still does not work try wiring ONLY the small black wire to the stock batter and NOT the positive negative wires (which go to your custom battery). If that works then you just need to find a matching thermistor.

 

[dduffey]

This thread is going in the wrong direction as kids don't need a faster toy car. We had a Jeep version for our grandkids and it was important that I could walk beside them (low gear) to take control if necessary while they learned to drive. Later then they were more skilled the spinning rear wheels limited the launch and made for fun sliding stops in a parking lot. Mostly we used that Jeep for parking practise to learn the skills of backing up into a parking space.

If speed and driving skill is the requirement wait until they grow up and get a Go kart that can be raced at a track.

I see no advantage is making a toy electric car faster. My thoughts for your consideration.

Hi Don,

It's hard not to respond or not to respond sarcastically since the tone could be interpreted as questioning parenting abilities. I know you meant well and I share your concerns. Once while riding bikes my 7 year old at the time went ahead and turned a corner while I was stuck with my slower 4 year old. We had already established the rules so privileges were lost for a week! Never did that happen again. My biggest concern modifying Power Wheels was not catching my garage or kids on fire. Both of my kids have also had "time out" from the Jeep for running into a curb or driving unsafely (too close to people/things, not paying attention, etc.).

Since you don't see any advantages to such a project I would like to share some because it has been very rewarding experience (and we aren't done, we always have more ideas and not enough time). I would be hard pressed to find another project with such wide educational and applicable experience. My kids range in age so each got different value out of it and they definitely grew more engaged as the Jeep became "better" or "different" and asked deeper and more interesting questions. I realize many of these come from a different mindset of tinkering and making which I would love to see more parents do.

• "It's not a toy" -> Yes I say that
• Safety First (Helmet, Flag, Visibility, Seat-belt, "Slow Children Sign" [chuckle])
• Fixing things (Jeep was used and original battery dead)
• Value (saved money using low cost Pb back batteries first)
• Braking as a separate function (installed second break petal)
• Alignment
• Shocks (well, bungie cords)
• Emergency kits (make shift variable pedal broke @ the park and I had to "tow" it home ... we now keep a toolset in the Jeep).
• Fabrication (we used aluminum and dremels ... we talked about 3D printers ... almost had an excuse to buy one!)
• Curcuitry
• Voltage, Amps
• Power and Capacity
• Chemistry (Lithium battery came only in 18V ... making for a higher speed and need to run in parallel instead of serial)
• Charging and low voltage performance
• Resistance, Variable Resistance
• Wire resistance
• Gauge, wire stripping, crimping, wire nuts, etc.
• Various tools and parts (no, bolts are not "screw nuts")
• Serial/Parallel sources and motors
• Fuses
• Three way switches and connecting in parallel
• "Gears" (although we changed that form low/high to sport/insane)
• Shorting vs. Disconnecting motors
• Cooling
• Listening
• Understeering, Oversteering, Countersteering
• Lingo ("donuts")
• Traction
• Responsibility
• Consequences
• Team Work
• Success & Failure

Those are all topics that came up in the process and I would say most are because of or resulting in differing speed. The goal was never racing but if I did want to introduce my kids to driving skills (under/over/counter steering,etc) I would not want their first experiences to be at any tracks that I've seen. It was also our first "EV" in the family which facilitated Tesla related discussions for me