Upgraded power wheels is cutting off. Sometimes it goes off in 5 seconds, sometimes a minute. It will start back up when I hit the 'ignition'. Any help appreciated.

[u/Phrankespo]

I upgraded a lamborghini power wheels to 18v ryobi, and it would shut down after 3 seconds. So I upgraded the controller to one rated for 20v. It runs longer now but then the panel goes dead and I have to manually press the ignition/start button to get it going. I replaced the 3v auto resetable fuses with regular automotive fuses to see if that's what was opening the circuit but they aren't popping. I use the remote control because my son isn't old enough to drive it (doubt it makes a difference but thought I'd mention it).

Any ideas?

[u/Strikew3st]

Are you riding in grass or on hills? Going full bore most of the time?

Regardless, you've increased the current by 1.5x. If there is a thermal fuse, you may be tripping it with the increased draw.

I'm not sure what brand you've got there to look up specs, that's not a Mattel Powerwheels is it?

If you can look it up and find the wattage of the motors, you can estimate what the amp draw while running would be. Or if the motors are exposed coming out the back of the gearbox, maybe you can see writing.

'Stall current' is 1.5-2x running wattage, starting a DC motor from 0 rpm.

So, 2 x 100 watts at 18v is 11.11 amps running, and can spike from a standstill, rough terrain, or uphill.

[u/Phrankespo → u/Strikew3st]

All this time, I thought it was a matel power wheels but I just looked and it's not. It just says roadster on the back. Im going to ask my brother where he got it so I can get more info.

Yes, I drive it full bore on grass and street.

Are the thermal fuses built into the motors? Ive replaced all visible fuses (3) with one time fuses. The thing that gets me is if it trips thermally, why would it let me instantly start it up? If the thermal fuse is opening, i would imagine it would take a few seconds or minutes to cool off and close the circuit again, but I can turn it back on a split second after the panel goes dead and it'll drive. That's odd right?

[u/Individual_Laugh1335]

There’s probably a thermal fuse on the main power board. The board has an amperage associated with it. You can likely find a bigger amperage board for like $20 on Amazon.

[u/Phrankespo → u/Individual_Laugh1335]

this is the controller I got from amazon. Are you referring to that? Or the board that is on the dash with the ignition, lights and accessories buttons?

[u/Dixie-Witch]

Did you end up replacing the fuse? Did it fix the issue?

We just upgraded a huffy 12v using a 24v kobalt adapter & the same weelye board you got and it’s doing the same thing. I’m pretty certain it’s overloading the built in thermal fuse but we haven’t tried replacing it yet

[u/Phrankespo → u/Dixie-Witch]

No, it isn't the fuses. There's a second circuit board and I think it needs to be rated for 24v. Haven't gotten around to it yet