Like with any other electronic toy, a kid’s ride-on vehicle is prone to possible electrical issues. Luckily, since the concept of how a ride-on operates is fairly simple, anyone with prior knowledge will be able to fix it. We know most people don’t have this knowledge, but that’s why we’re taking the time to show you how to diagnose and fix issues with kids’ motorized vehicles. That way, if you do ever run into a problem, you’ll know just what to do to fix it.

Battery or Charger

If your child’s ride-on stops working, the issue will most likely stem from a bad battery or the charger. The telltale sign of this problem is the lights turning on, but the ride-on doesn’t move. If this happens, the first thing you need to check is the charger. You should let it charge for at least 4 hours. Then, use a voltage reader on the charger connector. If it’s outputting 12 volts, then there is no problem here. It could be the wires leading to the battery, however. Use your voltage reader to see if the cables that connect to the battery also read 12 volts.

If both of these are fine, it’s safe to assume that the problem is with the battery, but you should still check the voltage. It should read anywhere from 9+ volts. If it’s lower, you’ll need a new battery. Just make sure you get the same kind and hook it up to the same terminals as the previous one to avoid further issues.

Other Bad Parts

The fuse and motor are the other two main parts that could break down. If the lights don’t come on at all during start-up, it’s almost definitely a broken fuse that will need replacing. If you think the motor is the issue, you can check it by hooking up either the ride-on’s battery or another strong battery directly to it to see if it’ll work. If it doesn’t, it will be the part that needs a replacement.

Broken Switches

On/off, forward/reverse, and the pedal are the three switches that could stop working on your child’s ride-on. If you have one of our Ducati motorcycles for kids, then the pedal will instead be a throttle, which can also get messed up.

With all three of these, you can expect the problem to lie in the wiring. Most of the time, it comes down to a wire coming loose, but sometimes the wire has gone bad and needs to be replaced. Ride-ons are pretty open, so it should be obvious which wire powers what. Once you find the bad one, replacing it is as easy as replacing a wire in any other device.

Controller Issues

The final issue you’ll come across is with your parental controller. The fixes here are pretty easy. If the controller is radio-based, it is probably interfering with another nearby radio frequency. If it’s a Bluetooth controller or through your phone, a simple reconnection should do the trick.

No matter what problems you run into, now that you know how to diagnose and fix issues with kids’ motorized vehicles, you should be able to tackle any problem that arises. Also, don’t be afraid to watch a YouTube video or two if you need a visual guide to replace a part properly.