Having a toy provides fun not only for the kids but also for all members of the family. If the toy is an electric car, the enjoyment will increase a hundred times.
Unfortunately, when it comes to purchasing a toy car, most parents are confused about the toy’s battery. A question always perplexed their minds: how long does a toy car battery last?
Typically, a 6V battery-powered toy can last around 45 to 60 minutes when fully charged, whereas a 12V or 24V battery will last approximately 2-4 hours.
To know more in-depth details about the battery life span of toy cars, read the entire context.
How Long Does a Toy Car Battery Last?
Children’s toy cars are designed with incredible functions. The functions include LED lights in the headlights, music and real sounds, door opening, and decorative rearview mirrors. To power these functions, a significant amount of DC electric power is required in the car.
For that, toy cars usually come with a battery of different voltages, like 6V, 12V, and 24V, according to the model. Depending on the battery and integrated functions and their use, a toy car can last from several minutes to hours.
For example, if you have a toy car that is integrated with a 6V battery, it will last for around 45 minutes to 60 minutes when fully charged. On the other hand, if your toy car is integrated with a 12V or 24V battery, it will last up to 4 hours.
A 24 Volt toys battery is typically powerful enough to drive cars on rough, bumpy, uneven, and sloppy terrain. However, these estimated hours can be varied depending on numerous factors, like how frequently the toy is used, the condition of the drive terrain, integrated function, and many more.
What Factors Influence A Toy Car Battery Last?
How much a toy car battery will last depends on numerous factors. Here, we have covered some crucial factors that will vary your toy car battery lifespan.
Voltage
Voltage mainly determines how much time your car will run. Three different battery voltages are typically equipped in toy cars: 6V, 12V, and 24V. So, it is obvious that if you have a lower voltage battery in your toy car, you will get a lower running time.
In that case, 6V battery-equipped cars offer lower running time. In contrast, 12V and 24V battery-equipped toy cars are good enough to provide significant driving time.
Driving Terrain
The road conditions on which the kids drive a toy car significantly impact the battery life. If the car drives on rough, bumpy, uneven, and sloppy terrain, there will be pressure on the car’s motor and, eventually, on the battery.
Besides, driving a toy car on a rough road will cause friction between the road surface and the car’s wheels. This will prevent the car from going smoothly on the road, which leads to draining the battery faster.
Integrated Functions
Toy cars are usually integrated with different functions like lights, music, and sounds. Whenever a kid uses these functions for a long time, the car battery will drain quickly.
For example, if the headlight of a toy car is turned on during the daytime, it will consume the battery, which will reduce the overall car driving time. Additionally, the frequent use of a car’s functions will impact the battery.
Weight Of The Kid
The weight of the child driving the toy car also affects the battery. The heavier the driver’s weight, the more power the car’s motor will need to drive. Since the motor draws power from the battery, it will drain quickly if run with a heavier child. On the other hand, when a child is underweight, a toy can move easily without much effort.
Driving Speed
The motor inside a toy car is responsible for running the car. The quicker the motor spins, the faster the car will go. To drive the car faster, the motor gets power from the battery in the car.
So, whenever a kid drives the toy car at a higher speed, the motor will draw more power from the battery. As a consequence, your car’s battery will run out quicker.
What Are The Different Voltage Types Of Toy Car Batteries?
As we have said earlier, three voltage types come with the toy car battery. Here we will discuss the performance of these three voltage batteries.
6 Voltage Battery
Toy cars with a 6-volt battery are usually designed for boys and girls 1-3 years old. This voltage battery requires a 15-watt motor inside the car. Compared to 12V and 24V batteries, a 6V battery is quite less powerful.
So, driving on rough and uneven terrain will be challenging with a 6V battery-equipped toy car. Depending on the functions used in the car, a 6V battery car provides a lower driving time.
12 Voltage Battery
12-volt battery-equipped cars are suitable for 4-6 years old children. Unlike 6-volt battery cars, this car offers a long driving time. Apart from that, a toy car can be easily driven smoothly on little rough and bumpy terrain.
The powerful battery allows a car to ride at a good speed of 4mph (6.44 km/h). Besides, a 12-volt battery lets a kid enjoy all the functions a toy car has such as headlights, music, and many more.
24 Voltage Battery
24-volt battery-equipped toy cars are designed with two powerful 55-watt motors each. This car is usually ideal for two young kids ages 4–5 years old or one older kid up to 7-8 years old.
The robust power of the battery lets the car drive on rough, bumpy, uneven, and sloppy terrain. A kid can easily drive a toy at a maximum speed of 8 mph (12.87 km/h) with a 24-volt battery-equipped car.
How Long Does It Take To Charge A Toy Car Battery?
Different voltage batteries usually take different amounts of time to fully charge. In this section, we will give an estimate of how much time it will take to fully charge a toy car.
- 6 Volt Battery: A 6-volt battery typically takes up to 8 hours to be fully changed for its first charge. But a running 6-volt battery will take around 6 hours to reach maximum capacity.
- 12 Volt Battery: 12-volt battery considers a medium volt capacity that requires around 8 hours to charge fully during the initial charge. After that, it will take only 6 hours to charge fully.
- 24 Volt Battery: Compared to the other batteries, a 24-volt battery is the most powerful that needs around 8 hours to charge fully when new. A running 24-volt battery will take only 6 hours to refill the maximum capacity.
Which Battery is Good For Toy Cars?
Most parents are confused about whether 12-volt or 24-volt battery toy cars are good for their kids. Although 24-volt battery-equipped cars are more expensive than 12-volt battery-equipped cars, they will provide more power, which is very crucial for driving on rough terrain.
Besides, a 24-volt battery will help the kids take advantage of all the features offered by a toy car. However, no matter which type of battery you choose, make sure it is ideal for your kids. In that case, you should select a toy car based on your kid’s age and meet the kid’s requirements.
Tips To Extend The Life Of A Toy Car Battery
Proper maintenance can enhance the life of your toy car’s battery performance. For that, here we have arranged some tips that will help you increase the life of your toy car battery.
- Avoid overcharging your battery; once it charges to 100%, remove it from the charger.
- Always keep some charge in your battery; don’t completely drain it.
- Avoid charging your toy car battery frequently; let it charge once the battery has a little charge.
- Use the charger that comes with your car to recharge the battery, which will protect the battery from damage.
- Don’t drive a toy car for long periods of time; give the battery time to cool down.
- Never replace your battery with a higher or lower voltage battery. This can damage your car and invalidate your warranty.
- Clean off dirt, corrosion, and grease regularly for ensuring a good connection.
Conclusion
Battery voltage plays an important role in getting a good amount of driving time out of a toy car. The more voltage a toy car battery has, the more run time you’ll get from it.
However, toy cars usually come with three different voltages in their batteries: 6V, 12V, and 24V. Due to voltage differences, toy car batteries last for different amounts of time. After reading this context, you may already know how long a toy car battery lasts.
Typically, a 6V battery lasts about 45-60 minutes, while 12V and 24V batteries last 2-4 hours. Battery life can also be extended by regular maintenance of the car. In that case, you can check out the section above to learn some tips for maintaining your car.
