Toddler EV gets a Big Boy battery upgrade

No matter what kind of vehicle we drive, it has a battery. These batteries wear out over time. Even high-end electric vehicles have limited battery life. But when your electric vehicle uses lead-acid batteries, that lifespan is measured on a much shorter scale. This is all the more true when the EV is piloted by a driver who hardly takes up more space in his EV than a stuffed tiger! Fortunately, the little girl in question has a mechanic:

3d-printed adapter sends liquid to DC-DC converter

Her dad, [Brian Lough], who documented the rapid conversion of his daughter's toy truck from lead-acid to lithium-ion in the video which you can see below the pause.

Faced with challenges similar to road-worthy passenger vehicles, [Brian] partnered with [bitluni] to solve them. The 12V SLA battery was replaced with a 20V Li-Ion pack from a power tool. A 3d printed adapter was enlisted to take the power pins out of the pack. The excessive voltage was handled with a DC-DC converter which, after some tweaking, produced a solid 12V.

What we love about hacking is that anyone can do it, and it gives an idea of ​​the kind of engineering that goes into even bigger projects. And don't forget to watch the video till the end for adorable and fun results!

Speaking of larger projects, check out the reverse engineering required in this lead-acid to lithium-ion conversion we covered in 2016.