How to make a Power Wheels remote control

Although we are seeing less and less manual ride-on toy cars with the rise of popularity that occurred with battery-powered toy cars, there is still a demand for vehicles that are either only remotely controlled or at least feature an option for it. Most Power Wheels products are battery powered with the help of a 12-volt battery, but with a bit of technical expertise, you can modify the toy car and remotely control it.

In order to do that you will need to know how to make a power wheels remote control and how to change various things on your toy card. In the next sections, we will explore exactly how that is done, so keep on reading.


What Here

Prepare the materials
Deconstructing the Power Wheel
​Attaching the Servo
​Connecting the Servo with the receiver
​Conclusion


Prepare the materials

Just like in any project, the first thing that you need to do is gather the materials before starting. Keep in mind that getting the items needed for a remotely controlled Power Wheels car may be expensive when you sum the total cost, but in the end, it will be worth it.

​There are a lot of people who tried and converted their Power Wheels toy car, some did it because they wanted their inexperienced or young kids to be safe while some have kids with motor skill issues or other medical problems. For this project, you will need a small budget, the total number depends on the current price of these items:

  • Large Servo
  • Power Wheels toy car
  • Two Battery holders
  • Light Switches
  • Screws
  • FlySky transmitter and receiver

We didn’t include the power wheels car in the price estimation because you may already have it, but with the combination of every other item in this list.

Power Wheels products aren’t expensive It’s depending on the model, but you can even buy second-hand models to have better price. The most Expensive items in the list will be the Large Servo and the transmitter and receiver.

​These items are also the most important ones, for the transmitter we recommend FlySky products while for the large servo we recommend something like a Hitec 31805s. The other items in this list can be easily found in local stores if you don’t already have them. As far as tools go, you will need the following:

  • Soldering Iron
  • Hand Saw
  • Electric Tape
  • Wire Cutters
  • Screwdriver

Deconstructing the Power Wheel

In order to modify your Power Wheel toy car so that you can remotely control it, you will need to remove some parts. This step will vary greatly depending on the model that you use, but generally, the process remains the same. First, you will need to remove the unnecessary parts that stand in your way. Remove the seats, back bars, and windshield, mostly all the items that prevent you from getting in contact with the hardware.

​The next thing you should do is saw off the steering wheel, only remove the plastic part up until you reach the middle part of it with the circle in the center. The last step is to turn over the vehicle so that you can gain access to the pedal tabs.

​By pressing all four tabs you will remove the gas bar, make sure that the wires leading to it are removed as well. Another thing you should do is remove the extra bits of plastic around the pedal.


​Attaching the Servo

​In this step, you will need to move some parts and attach the servo you bought. First, you will remove the battery by removing the screws holding the shifter. Remove the battery connector from the battery and cut the wires leading from the battery connector to the toy car.

​Move the battery the back part of the vehicle, you will find space under the seat for it. The wires that you previously cut can be found under the car’s dashboard, you will notice that they lead from the shifter to the pedal.

​You can now reconnect a wire to the battery connector and screw the other one in one of the switches. If you can’t reach it then get an extension wire and connect it. Place the switch bellow the dashboard. After doing that you should start attaching the Servo.

​In order to do that, you will need to make sure that the plus shaped pieces found on both the servos. Attach the steering servo by using the screws and screwing them through the holes and into the edge of the steering wheel.

​Then gather two small pieces of wood and screw them into the dash. Make sure that they are aligned properly with the servo and use two pieces of wire to secure them onto the servo.


​Connecting the Servo with the receiver

Up to this point you have handled most of the hardware part, all that is left to do is connect the receiver so that you can later use it as a controller

​Start by attaching the servo to the receiver in its first channel. Before attaching the battery pack to the power, you should first turn on the remote so that it works properly.

​If the servo moves wrong and doesn’t move as intended by the remote controller, then you can go to the page of the product and follow video guides that show you how to set the proper directions. Video guides can be found for most remote controllers as well.

​If it works, you can attach a second light switch to the servo battery so that you can gain the benefit of turning off the receiver, but this is optional. Now that you have finished with all of the hardware, you can construct the Power Wheels and place back all the plastic pieces.

​Conclusion

​There are many benefits when it comes to converting your usual battery powered Power Wheels into one that can be remotely controlled. By knowing how to make a power wheels remote control, you can control the vehicle yourself while the kids are inside in order to make it a safer experience if they’re just starting out.

​Perhaps if your child has medical problems that prevent them from driving the ride-on toy car, then you can control it for them instead. Making a remote control for your Power Wheels model isn’t that hard, note that you should only have enough of a budget to prepare all the materials, the rest of this only requires hard work and dedication.