Complete Revision & completion.

Day 365...


At long last Jaydens Jeep (The Sarge) is done! As it turns out the stock pinions do not fit the Traxxas motors however if you know what you are looking for pinions are easy to find on any hobby website. The new motors were installed and she runs great once again.

Be weary if you ever intend to build one of these that 4 electric motors wired together in any way eat electrical components. The combined 4 motors have a total draw of 40 amps (10a each). At start-up they can often peak at over 60 amps. WOW! Thats a powerful little jeep. 480w of power whitch is about equal to an electric moped scooter.

After frying 4 automotive relays, 4 25a industrial relays, and all the stock power wheels switches It became apparent that motor power is much different than other power. Even The 10-15 amp draw of each motor was enough to instantly fry 30a components.

Attempt #5 of re-wiring left the only solution. A wiring system using 4 automotive solenoids. $60 worth of solenoids seemed a bit ridiculous to run a little kids toy but i guess it was the only option left before going to a PWM speed controller.

I also decided it was in need of a lift kit. Sarge now rides on a 1.5" lift and steering extension. I cut 1.5" lengths of tubing and fitted them on the mounting posts between the axles and the frame to give it a lift similar to a suspension lift as opposed to a body lift. Many people will try to give there power wheels a 6" lift or so... While that might look great on your real truck it looks ridiculous on a little power wheels especially when larger tires ARE NOT available. A tasteful little lift is all that required to make it look like a big beast.

No pics for now but I will try to get a video on here so you can all see it in action.

A LONG delay in progress...

The last time i posted here Jaydens jeep had just been brought back to the garage. Unfortunately it is still here. I finally got the motor wired up and.... only 1 motor of the 4 works. After months of waiting for a parts vehicle to come along (as new motors are $50/piece) Marty finally just said "is there any way under $100 we can get this thing to move". YES! A spark went off as I recall a couple projects i had seen online using RC motors. Traxxas sells a 550 motor slightly more powerful than a stock power wheels motor for $25 a piece and they apparently fit perfectly. Because they are different we will need 4 of them. I had initially thought pinions would be easy to find.... NOT! Now the only issue will be removing the pinions from the stock motors and "fingers crossed" the traxxas 550s have the same diameter shaft. Tomorrow I will be picking up some 550s and making a stop at Racerocks auto to see if the pros can help me get the pinions off without damage (something I have failed to do in the past).