I need to make an accelerator

[rhinochopig]

My son has one of Maserspiders electric jeeps. It's served him well but has given up the ghost due to being left in the garden all winter. My plan is to gut it and replace the battery and rc kit with a car battery and possibly some stronger RC car motors. My problem is at the moment the throttle is controlled by an on / off switch so I need to swap it for one which will offer analogue rather than digital control. Any suggestions as to what to use - the cheaper the better as he'll have grown out of it in 12 months.

[cianha]

It'll depend on the motor, but something like this should do the job?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/PWM-12V-40V-DC-Electric-Pu...

[rhinochopig]

Thanks for that. Problem is converting what is essentially a pot to foot control though.

Do you think an old scalextric controller would work?

[PanzerCommander]

rhinochopig said:

Thanks for that. Problem is converting what is essentially a pot to foot control though.

Do you think an old scalextric controller would work?

Depends on the current draw of the motor, if it is less than or the same as a scalextric car then it will be fine, if its more you might find it works for a few seconds and then burns out.

Easy, remove the rotary knob and replace it with a servo arm or similar which will allow you to translate the linear motion of the pedal to the rotary motion of the pot.

Another idea for you allowing you to use an electronic method, buy a suitable electronic speed controller and a servo tester. Connect the servo tester to the radio harness plug on the speed controller and the speed controller can then be wired up to the battery and motor. Replace the twist knob on the servo tester with a servo arm as above.

Ohh and reverse can be achieved with a suitably rated centre off double pole double throw switch (plenty of diagrams on the internet).

[GT6k]

Apparently cordless drill trigger switches are quite good for this, I have even seen a design that used the trigger switch and the 2 or 3 speed gearbox off an old drill.

[rhinochopig]

GT6k said:

Apparently cordless drill trigger switches are quite good for this, I have even seen a design that used the trigger switch and the 2 or 3 speed gearbox off an old drill.

What a brilliant idea. I have on old one too where the battery packs have died. Will give this a go.