Published on January 2nd, 2019 | by Kids Electric Cars

Has my battery run flat on my Kids Toy Car?

If you’re having trouble with a battery that won’t charge or seems to be dead, read this handy guide to identifying the problem and see if there’s a solution.

There are many possible reasons why your kids car battery is not working. To work out what exactly your problem is, check through the possible causes of a dead battery listed below. This can help you fix the problem and avoid further issues in future.

How old is your battery?

Unfortunately, batteries have a limited lifespan and if your battery is over two years old, it is likely that it has degraded with use, and it’s now time for a replacement. We sell the full range of batteries for our kids electric cars, so if you’d like to get that old battery replaced and get back on the road, click here to visit our batteries and spares page.

When was the last time you charged your battery?

Even if you’re not using your kids electric car, the battery will still slowly lose charge. As stated in the manual which came with your car, it is necessary to regularly charge your battery to avoid loss of capacity or failure. If your battery has been left for too long, it may have become irreparably damaged, and no longer be capable of holding a charge.

If you’ve left your battery for months between charges, start by leaving it connected to the charger overnight. If you have a multimeter, you can check to see how much the battery is able to store, and how this compares with its rating. In some cases, an extended charging session can refill a battery left for too long, but in the likelihood that the battery is dead, we’re afraid it’s time for a replacement. Luckily, we carry the full range of spare and replacement batteries on our spares page, which you can visit by clicking here.

Have you stored your battery in a dry, room-temperature environment?

Batteries are extremely sensitive to humidity and temperature, and if you have been storing your kids electric car in a shed or garage, it is possible that your battery has suffered damage due to a low or fluctuating temperature.

If your battery has been exposed to moisture or a humid environment, it is possible that the connectors have become corroded and can no longer conduct electricity. Though cleaning can restore the surface of your connectors, it is likely that if they have suffered corrosion, then the cells of the battery will also be damaged, and these cannot be cleaned.

A kids electric car is a complex piece of machinery with many sensitive electrical parts. In order to avoid this kind of damage, we recommend keeping your kids electric car in a dry, room-temperature environment. If you can’t spare the space to store the whole car, at least keep

Have you continued to use your battery until it is fully flat?

The heavy-duty batteries required to run a kids electric car are not designed to be fully discharged. As described in your car’s manual, it is vital for long-lasting battery health that you charge the battery regularly, and don’t allow it to be fully discharged.

If the battery is totally flat, then it often cannot take on a new charge. This issue is most commonly caused by driving the car until there is not enough charge to power the motors, and then leaving the car switched on so that the remaining charge is expended, leaving the battery totally flat.

To avoid this type of issue in future, we recommend charging the battery as soon as the power drops and the motors begin to lose power. Continuing to drive after this point risks this kind of total discharge, which can be disastrous for battery health.