Powerwheels Progress

I made a few purchases related to the secret project this weekend:



So far total money out of pocket is: $94.05.

This may seem like a lot to spend on something that we aren't even sure works yet, but here are my justifications.

Any Power wheels on craigslist, garbages, etc. does not come with a battery. The reason for this is that the batteries are of a low quality, and the chargers that come with them are shit. The chargers(if not closely monitored) will overcharge the battery, thus shortening its life. If you forget to unplug the charger after a few hours, it will keep charger full speed ahead. If you go to bed and leave the power wheels plugged in, your battery is going tits up real soon.

So.....I knew no matter what I would have to buy a new battery. After a lot of research I found a new battery. The new battery is $20 cheaper than the official 'Power wheels' brand, which is good, plus it is rated at 12v/12ah. The stock batteries are rated at 12v/9ah, which means the new battery will last approximately 25% longer than the old battery. This will please Miller.

I also knew that I would need a new battery charger, one that actually monitors the batteries voltage, and shuts off once the battery is 'full'. This will extend the life of the battery from 3-6 months to 2 or more years. This pleases me.

As for the other stuff, I needed to run new wiring as the previous owner ripped most of it out. Also, with the new battery I needed to run an in line 30amp fuse, because the stock batteries have an integrated fuse inside the battery. Without fuses, bad things happen.

The goal this week is to run the new wire enough so that I can hook up the battery to the switch to see what works and what doesn't.

3 things may or may not work.

High/low/reverse shifter. If this doesn't work it is bad news. They cost between $10 and $20, which isn't a big deal, but since this jeep was made back in '99, I can't buy a direct replacement, which means a lot of jerry rigging on my part, which I may not feel up to.

Gearboxes. The gearboxes are brittle and prone to shearing pieces off. From what I can see everything looks tip top, but once I hook everything else and something is off, it could be a deal breaker, as new gearboxes are $30 a piece and this one has 2.

Motors. Sitting outside in the rain for 10 years will wreak havoc on these motors. There are 2 motors in the vehicle. Luckily, motors are cheap $19 apiece, and are one of the easiest modifications to do to make the vehicle faster. Broken motors might not be a deal breaker as I may have replaced these anyways.

So this week will be a big week concerning whether or not this project will be continued. I have given myself a limit of $130 to get the jeep running. Keep in mind that $130 does not include a stereo system, under-vehicle neon, hydraulics, working lights, and the aformention turret mounted bb-gun. $130 just to be able to put one size 7 kids shoe on the accelerator and have it take off at a leisurely pace. That means I have $40 dollars to work with. Here is what I know has to be fixed without even considering the previous 'might go wrongs'.

Accelerator pedal. Right now there is no accelerator pedal, I either need to fabricate one, or buy one online($12). Either way I will have to do some fandangaling to make it fit, because all of the original pedals have been sold. Luckily I can test everything else out by hard wiring the battery directly to the shifter, thus by-passing the accelerator pedal.

Inconclusion, if it looks like this project is going to go over budget, it goes right back out to the side of the road. I can use everything I have purchased up to this point in another vehicle so it will be no great loss(other than the loss of brain cells by consuming toooo many beers the night of acquisition because I was so damned excited). But lets hope it doesn't come to that.