Introduction: Fix Rollplay 12v Ride on Chevy Silverado / GMC Powerwheels Re-Wire

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I purchased one of these, and it stopped working after a few months. The circuit should be simple, and it is, but you need to understand it.

I will tell you how to make this thing work, but by doing so, (1) you will eliminate the ability to "safely" charge it using the wall charger plugged into the side of the car. So just make sure you unplug the wall charger from the carl before you use it (2) the on/off key switch will be bypassed, which means the headlights will not work unless you change how they are wired.

Before you do the destructive things I am going to describe here, READ THE TROUBLE SHOOTING form roll play here; http://assets.rollplay.net/12v-gmc-sierra-denali/12V_pickup_service_guide.pdf

Step 1: Do the Trouble Shooting From That Manual (or Dont)

I think you should do the steps described here first; Rollplay website Instructions

Buy hey, it is a free country so do what you want. Use a multi-meter to test the switches and make sure they all work. Or dont.

In the photo above, I disassembled too much. All you need to do is remove the seat.

Step 2: Cut the Power Lines and Bypass the Relay.

On my board, the relay failed. I think this is pretty common on these toys. So we are going to bypass it.

This is an always on relay that is held "off" by a few events one of which is when it is charging, the other of which is when the key "on-off" is turned. So fk-it. Eliminate it. To do so;

Cut (1)the purple wire and (2) the yellow wire. (These wires connect the foot peddle switch, to the circuit board)

Join both sets of purple and yellow wires together. Use an electrical wire nut and twist together, or solder it -- do what you can (I soldered mine). Just to be clear, you are joining the purple and the yellow at the board level, AND you are joining the purple and the yellow at the harness level. Two wire nuts will be needed.

Here is an overview of what you have just done; (1) The yellow line, is an +12V line coming from the battery. (2) The purple line is a line connecting the circuit board to the gear-switch then to the motors. (3) by connecting the yellow wire to the purple wire, you are essentially removing the safety relay from preventing power from between the Yellow and the purple. This "hack" would not have been necessary if the relay was functioning properly. You have just eliminated the use of the on-off key, and of the charging safety mechanism preventing the car from moving while charging.

That is it, car is fixed.

Good luck, dont start a fire! Post photos of your fix!

Also here is a youtube video of a dude who disassembled this exact same car to install a variable speed controller. IMO, not something I would have done, but the assembly video is great!

Step 3: OPTIONAL!! -- Hook Up the Headlights to the Key Switch

So, I wanted to make the headlights work. (Although same process for the radio).

Coming off the board is a 5 wire connector. you can see it in the photo above. (Also in that youtube video)

  • Black - ground
  • Red - +12v Battery
  • Pink - +12v other side of Key switch
  • Orange - Radio
  • Yellow - headlights.

If you place a jumper wire between the Pink line and the Yellow Line, you can control the headlights by turning on and off the key. I assume that those LEDs can handle 12v and that there is no circuitry on the board reducing the voltage, but honestly I didnt check it. I did it and it works. Just be careful not to forget the headlights on.

If I get around to testing this, I will update it here, but don't hold your breath. For now it works!

Have fun everyone!