If you overcharge a Power Wheels Battery it gets damaged and starts getting depleted faster after a single charge. You can overcharge a battery by leaving the charger on for more than the recommended duration.
One of the popular ways that parents overcharge power wheels is by leaving the charger plugged in overnight. Each model of power wheels has the recommended time for an initial charge and recharging.
Parents must keep an eye on charging toy vehicles to ensure that the batteries only stay plugged into the charger for the recommended duration.
Following the manufacturer’s recommendations for charging Power Wheels batteries will ensure that you don’t have to buy a replacement battery soon after buying a toy car.
Extra or Replacement Batteries
If you are looking for an extra battery or need a replacement battery or charger this will guide you to the correct one.
Can You Overcharge Power Wheels Battery?
Yes, you can overcharge Power Wheels batteries. The company stipulates that you need to charge a toy car 18 – 30 hours before the first use or at least 14 hours after every use.
Plugging in the battery for more than 30 hours for the first will cause the battery to deteriorate.
Also, charging a battery for more than 18 hours after a single use can damage the Power Wheels battery.
Can You Undercharge Power Wheels Battery?
Most parents know that you can overcharge power wheels, but overcharging them has the same devastating effects. Parents must charge power wheels toy cars for at least 14 hours after every use.
It doesn’t matter whether your little one uses his or her electric toy vehicle for 5-10 minutes. You need to recharge the battery for at least 14 hours after use before you store the toy.
Charging Power Wheels for hours that are less than the minimum recommended time leads to undercharging, which leads to battery damage.
Additionally, it would be best to keep a close eye on how much time the battery stays plugged in to ensure that you get the right timing. Use a timer to get the timing right when you are charging your little one’s electric toy vehicle.
Remember that undercharging is as bad as overcharging Power Wheels because both will cause your battery to deteriorate.
How Should You Charge Power Wheels?
There are a few precautions that parents should take when charging power wheels to do it right. Parents should never let children connect the charger to the battery under any circumstances.
Power Wheels batteries are heavy for a child to remove from a toy car and place a battery in the charging space.
Parents should always be responsible for charging power wheels for safety reasons. Here are the steps that parents should take when charging power wheels.
- Choose a location that is free from clutter and away from human traffic. The surface should be somewhere you won’t mind if corrosion happens over time.
- Use a Power Wheels charger when charging any Power Wheels batteries. Some toy vehicles will come without a charger, and parents should purchase an original one from the manufacturer.
- Always take time to inspect the charger or battery to see whether there any cracks or dents before charging. Cracked chargers or batteries need to be replaced because they are prone to explode. It takes about 5-minutes to thoroughly inspect a battery for cracks or leaks before charging it. If the charger is defective here are some other ways you can charge the battery without the charger.
- Plug the charger into a wall outlet on one side and the battery’s charging port.
- Keep a timer on and unplug the charger after the recommended charging time elapses.
- Once the battery is full, replace it in the toy vehicle for storage.
How Long Does a Fully Charged Power Wheels Last?
The duration that a Power Wheels battery will last depends on the size of the battery. Some batteries can last for 45 minutes, while others can last for 1-2 hours of running time.
Batteries with 24V batteries tend to last for about 2 hours while 6V batteries can last for about 45 minutes.
Older kids need a bigger battery that will allow them to have more fun outdoors for longer. Younger kids can have a lot of fun from thirty minutes of driving around the backyard.
Consider a bigger capacity battery if you are looking for power wheels kids can drive for more than an hour.
How do you tell if Power Wheels Battery is Charging?
Most power wheels batteries come with an LED light to indicate when the battery is charging and another one to show when it is ready for use. You can use the light indicators to tell whether your battery is charging or not.
This light can be on the dashboard of the car or on the charger itself. If it is not, something may be wrong with the charger or the connection port on the battery as long as it is plugged into the outlet.
Why is My Power Wheels Charged but Not Working?
A charged power wheels battery that is not working is an indication of an issue in the vehicle. The battery may no longer be working, or you may have a blown switch within the car’s wiring.
You can measure the battery’s charge with a multi voltmeter to check whether the power stored in the battery can sustain the car.
Also, check the thermal fuse to ensure that it is working. A broken thermal fuse can cause the whole electric toy vehicle not to work when a child tries to turn it on.
What Happens When You Don’t Charge Power Wheels?
Several risks come with not charging Power Wheels as per the manufacturer’s recommendations. The obvious consequence is that the battery will begin to deteriorate and stop offering peak performance.
Other times a battery can discharge all the power in it and become flat. Once a battery has no charge left, it is dead and unusable.
Take time to recharge a battery once you see the low battery indicator. Make sure you store the battery correctly when you not using it for a prolonged period of time.
Tips for Taking Care of Batteries in Storage
- Please charge the battery at least once a month to ensure that it is functional. Batteries tend to lose energy over time when they are not in use during winter. A battery can become flat if it stays in storage for too long without being recharged. It will cost you fund for buying a replacement battery when your little one wants to use it in summer.
- Keep your storage area’s temperature optimal during winter to ensure that the battery has a longer life span. A cold storage area will cause a battery to lose more energy fast than a storage area that stays at normal room temperature throughout winter.
- Please remove the battery from Power Wheels when you intend to keep it in storage for a couple of months consecutively. It is hard to detect leakages of electrolytes when the battery is inside the toy vehicle.
- You can turn on the electric car once in a while when it is not in use and let it idle for a few minutes to ensure everything works as it should.
Overall, it would be best if you took time every month to inspect the battery and charger and recharge Power Wheels batteries when they are in storage.
Neglecting electric batteries during storage will lead to a slow deterioration.
Conclusion
It is easy to overcharge Power Wheels when you forget to unplug the charger on time. Power Wheels batteries do not come with a feature that prevents overcharging, and parents need to be vigilant when a battery is plugged into an outlet.
Another aspect that parents are unaware of is the risk of undercharging a battery by leaving it connected to a charger for less than the minimum recommended charging period. It is a must to recharge power wheels after every use to protect the integrity of the battery.
You can always set a timer to remind you when it is time to unplug a battery.
Alternatively, you can check the LED indicator that shows when the battery is ready or use and then unplug it.
Please be careful and use at your own risk
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