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In a slight deviation from the typical posts I make here on The Track Ahead, I wanted to detail a small project I worked on over the weekend for my kids. We have one of these Power Wheels in the backyard that hasn’t been used in years. This model is the Power Wheels Dune Racer, which is powered by a 12-V battery that comes with the car.

Even after doing a full charge on the Power Wheels battery, my kids would get in, step on the accelerator, and the car would literally… crawl… along. It would struggle to move, even with only one of my kids sitting in the car. It might be due to the battery being older, but even with a newer battery the car doesn’t have much power at all. If only we could get more power…

Every so often, I see people post online about swapping out their 12-volt battery with an upgraded battery from one of their power tools. This is done by cutting out the old battery connection and splicing an adapter that a tool battery can connect to. Common power tool batteries you’ll find today are 18V, 20V, and 24V batteries from the main brands: DeWalt, Ryobi, Kobalt, Ridgid, Craftsman, Milwaulkee, and more.

I already had DeWalt power tools along with several 20V batteries, so I decided to purchase an adapter which would allow me to use my DeWalt 20V batteries with the Power Wheels car. This project only takes only five minutes to do and it makes a huge difference in the power of the car.

You’ll need a wire stripper/cutter, as well as the adapter itself. If you have another brand of power tool battery, you can purchase the respective adapter for that brand.

Power Wheels Adapter: 20V-DeWalt / 18V-Ryobi / 24V-Kobalt / 18V-Ridgid / 20V-Craftsman / 18V-Milwaulkee
Wire cutter/stripper: Klein Tools Wire Cutter and Stripper

This simple upgrade works only on certain types of Power Wheels battery-powered cars. If you have a Power Wheels brand Dune Racer, F150, Jeep, or similar type of battery-powered car that does not have a control board, this will work. If you have a battery-powered vehicle with a control board, you will need to look into getting a low voltage cutoff switch, which is beyond the scope of this post.

On our Power Wheels Dune Racer car, open the back door where the battery normally goes and ensure the battery is disconnected. Cut the two wires: one black and one white. Strip the ends off about 1/4″ of an inch and twist them up.

The adapter comes with a connector that is super easy to use. You insert the black wire into the connector with the red end, and the white wire into the blue end. After inserting the stripped end of the wire into each terminal, press down on the latches to lock them in place. And that is it!

Now, just connect one of your tool batteries to the adapter, and then place the whole bunch into the battery compartment and close it. Now, time to test it out!

As soon as you press down the accelerator, it will start peeling out, especially if the Power Wheels car is on a hard surface. It’s a stark contrast in power compared to what you’re used to seeing on the original battery. If the car runs backwards when it is supposed to go forward and vice-versa, this means the wires are crossed. In this happens, disconnect the wires at the connector, cross them over, and connect them again.

With the huge improvement in power, there is also a huge increase in the battery life as well. You can run the car for much, much longer than you would have with the original Power Wheels battery. Even with my three kids in the car, this thing hauls! Huge power boost, low cost for the adapter, quick install, and uses my existing batteries at home? It can’t get much better than that.