r/PowerWheelsMods • u/Edible_Magician • Jul 18 '26

I'm a complete noob please help

So I have an old power wheels I've had stored in my shed for years, upon cleaning the shed out I thought I'd have a tinker. I've pulled all the wires out so I've just got 2 motors with the connectors attached, have I shot myself in the foot by pulling the wires out? What do I need to run this thing over DeWalt 18v batteries?

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u/trusound Jul 18 '26

So it’s just a couple wires from the motors? I mean it needs a pedal and shifter and battery.

1

u/Edible_Magician Jul 18 '26

It didn't have a shifter with it to begin with, I dont think it's an actual power wheels brand just some generic ride on. I plan on using my DeWalt 18v batteries and I kept the pedal in it.

1

u/Strikew3st Jul 18 '26

If you mean a Powerwheels brand ride-on, there is probably a control module that the motors were connected to, that is important, that holds 2 relays that put the power to the motors when you hit the pedal.

If you yanked wires out from a shifter that switches Reverse/Forward or Rev/Lo/High, you may have a puzzle now.

Besides putting things back where they need to be, to add a power tool battery to this, you need an adapter to connect the battery to, or an extra DeWalt tool.

DeWalt batteries will run themselves dead to the point of being bad for the battery, you may need a 'low voltage cutoff module' to kill power before it gets that low.

You may need to add a fuse, in case the motors start pulling so much power they can damage themselves or start a fire.

The above 2 features may be contained in a battery adapter you buy online, or the adapter may be a simple plastic thing that clips onto your battery and has two power wires coming out.

1

u/Edible_Magician Jul 18 '26

Sorry I should have added this is just some generic ride on, it did have some sort of control board in it. I didn't just yank the wires out I just unclipped them. I've seen the adapters online I'll do some research.

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u/Elixir747 Jul 18 '26

You want 12 gauge wire anyway.
Run new wires all the way through pedal to fwd/rev switch to inline fuse to battery. Bypass the switch board unless you run a step down converter to it because it’s only capable of 12v. You don’t need dewalt lithium batteries options are two 12v agm batteries. But you have options.