Craftsman v20 Battery Adapter 20v

thingiverse

This project has become an integral part of my daughter's Stay-At-Home remote learning experience, particularly for her 1st-grade Engineering class. The Tinkering at Home assignment sparked the idea to rewire her Power Wheels Mustang, and we decided to create a custom adapter for the batteries. I already had a collection of batteries designed for my tools, so we needed an adapter that could handle these specific batteries. The original 12-volt 9.5 AH Power Wheels battery takes far too long to charge (18 hours), whereas two 20-volt 4 AH batteries wired in parallel provide nearly the same run time and only require about 20 minutes per battery to charge. I had previously installed a motor speed controller in the car, which limits its top speed, but my daughter loves it when it's set to full speed. This is a battery adapter designed for a Craftsman V20 Battery, inspired by Griffin175's battery adapter (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3127879). I created this adapter without using any hardware to hold the contacts in place or requiring glue for the top cover. The same 1/2" copper pipe straps used by Griffin175 are employed here, and they can be easily found at most hardware stores. For this project, I'm utilizing 14-gauge wire; however, 12-gauge wire may also fit through the slots in the rear, although I'm unsure. Instructions for creating the battery contacts: - Flatten one of the copper pipe straps using a hammer, then cut it in half. - Measure 10mm from the side with the hole and bend it 90 degrees as shown in the pictures above. To ensure uniformity, clamp both strips together in your vise and use a hammer to bend them simultaneously. - Strip about 8-10mm of insulation from the wires and solder them in place next to the hole, allowing enough room for the wire to bend down and exit through the back of the adapter. - Insert the contact into place and slide the cover over the top. - That's it. If someone requires modifications or larger wire, I can alter the design or upload my Fusion 360 file. However, please note that I'm relatively new to Fusion 360 and may not have modeled this design with optimal efficiency. My next Power Wheels project will be adding lights and a real car audio stereo with a couple of speakers.