BY Nick Bulanda
Published February 19, 2022
Lawn Mower Battery in Power Wheels: What You Need to Know
Few vehicles can offer as much fun for kids as Power Wheels. That said, if you’ve run into issues with the battery in your child’s Power Wheels toy, you’re not alone. We have some good news for you. You don’t necessarily have to shell out a ton of money to buy a replacement battery. It’s possible that you have an option already waiting in your garage. If your lawn mower has a compatible battery (usually a 12V deep cycle, but more information on that down below), then with a little bit of DIY work you can safely outfit the toy with this new setup. If you’re interested in this, please feel free to check out this guide. We believe it’ll help you get started in the process of installing a lawn mower battery in Power Wheels.
Choosing the Right Battery: Voltage and Deep Cycle
Before you get started attempting to install this new battery upgrade, it’s very important that you make sure the lawn mower battery is compatible with the toy. Most Power Wheels vehicles utilize 12V batteries, so double check that is the case and then ensure your lawn mower utilizes the same type. It’s also important to look for a deep cycle battery. Other types of batteries aren’t made to be recharged over and over again, so they won’t work too well for a Power Wheels toy. If everything is a good fit, you can go ahead and move forward with confidence.
Lawn Mower Battery in Power Wheels Installation Process
Have you done all the work required to make sure the battery is a suitable fit for the toy? If so, you’re ready to start researching the installation process. Unless you’re very experienced in this kind of work, we encourage you to read through this section multiple times before attempting it on your own. We’d even recommend checking out multiple sources to make sure that you have a full grasp on the installation. After all, your child’s safety is at stake, so you want to make sure everything is done with 100% accuracy. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s begin.
Step One: House the Battery
The first thing you’ll want to do is get the battery comfortably situated inside the front of the Power Wheels vehicle. Take out the old battery. Unfortunately, you’ll find that most lawn mower batteries are too large to fit in the standard housing. That means you’ll have to do some cutting. A power saw is the most efficient way to do this, but use your best judgement. We recommend measuring the lawn mower battery to see exactly how much space you’ll need. You want the battery to sit comfortably in the housing, without room to rattle around. Also make sure you still have easy access to the battery, including the wiring elements.
Step Two: Connect the Battery to the Vehicle
The second and final step to installing your lawn mower battery in Power Wheels is connecting the wires to the vehicle system. Make sure to keep track of the positive and negative wires on the battery. Then, go to the vehicle and remove the plug for the old battery. From there, you’ll want to remove an inch or two of the insulation, allowing you to connect the positive to positive and negative to negative. It’s that simple! From there, test everything out to make sure it works as intended. Your child should be all set to have some fun!
Performance Expectations
This could come as a surprise, but many parents actually report better performance out of a lawn mower battery compared to the standard 12V that comes with the vehicles. While that doesn’t point towards great manufacturing on the batteries, it does present plenty of good options for many parents who don’t mind putting in a little bit of work. It is said that not only do the batteries usually offer more power, but they’ll allow kids to go longer without having to charge the battery. As always, just make sure to keep a close eye on your child as they ride around on the toy. These toys are safe but should always be used under direct adult supervision.
Battery Maintenance Tips
There are some steps you can take to help make sure your battery lasts longer over time. First, make sure not to leave it on the charger for too long once it’s full of juice. This can drain the battery life as time goes on. You also will want to store the battery somewhere warm rather than out in the cold. Lastly, make sure you don’t leave the battery inactive for long stretches of time. If the toy isn’t being used, take it down yourself, run it for a bit and recharge the battery. This will help ensure it doesn’t fully die out on you.
Was this guide helpful with regards to installing a lawn mower battery in Power Wheels? Hopefully it at least got you off to a good start. If you have any additional questions about the process, feel free to leave a comment below. Also remember that you could likely find a professional to install for you if you’re not sure you can handle the wiring aspects of the installation. Don’t do anything you’re not confident is fully safe!
