Reddit mentions of Amass 10 Pair XT60H Bullet Connector Plug Upgrated of XT60 Sheath Female & Male Gold Plated for RC Parts … … …

Interesting! Found them on Amazon for a buck a pair after discount:

https://www.amazon.com/Amass-Bullet-Connector-Upgrated-Sheath/dp/B074PN6N4K

Might be worth picking up a set and re-wiring the connections on my printer.

Nice!

Make sure you check out /r/ender3 for resources that may help you. Note, from what I read, some of the problems that plagued the Ender 3 should have been fixed in newer revisions. Namely the original XT60 power connectors were included were either generic or crimped/soldered poorly, resulting in them burning!. My printer that I bought a few months ago came with XT60H (example) connectors that were super solid and don't overheat.

Also, save this video for when you start building the printer. It's a great installation guide that goes over a lot of nuances that can trip people up if they followed the stock instructions. Be sure to take your time with installing everything! Best do things right initially so you less to troubleshoot later.

Edit: Please make sure you turn off and unplug your power supply before cutting any wires.

Parts / tool list below, this what i used but there are substitutes out there.

Note: Main thing that is slightly challenging is soldering the XT60s, basic idea is to “tin” (soldering term) the wires and the XT60s first, then heat the connector with your iron as you put the wire in to get a good fusion. Decent video on soldering them:solder XT60s


My soldering Iron:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ANZRT4M/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Soldering Flux:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008ZIV85A/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Solder (60-40)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071G1J3W6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

New XT-60’s and Shroud:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074PN6N4K/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Helping Hands (not required, but def helpful)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000RB38X8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bought this a while ago, but any heat shrink will do:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MFA3OFA/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wire - If you’re new to soldering and need practice, or you’re going to split your cables for Rasberry Pi, or other components, etc:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01ABOPMEI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Can also get xt60 with same sort of cap if the xt90 seems excessive.


https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074PN6N4K

Parts list:

Motor and drive train combo: 2 x 550 30000RPM Gearbox with 12V Motor,Electric Motor with Gear Box for Kids Electric Cars and Motorcycles High Speed RS550 Drive Engine Match Children's Ride on Cars https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076Q3XTWB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_PiZADbZK937A2

Transmission to wheel adapter: Transmission Gear External Gear Accessories Connect Gearbox Motor and Wheels for Kids Powered Ride-Ons, 550 Gearbox Accessories Kids Ride On Car Replacement Parts E https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076HW2W98/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_TlZADbWF68M45

Variable speed controller: RioRand 7-80V PWM DC Motor Speed Controller Switch 30A https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071NQ5G71/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_LjZADbQSB11QY

Connectors: Amass 10 Pair XT60H Bullet Connector Plug Upgrated of XT60 Sheath Female & Male Gold Plated for RC Parts ... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074PN6N4K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nkZADbG4NVM0E

Spade connectors: Supco T1112 Quick Disconnect, High Temperature, 12-10 Gauge, 1/4" Female Tab (Pack of 15) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0071NC78C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_olZADbX56T2WB

Battery terminal: https://www.ereplacementparts.com/contact-plate-holder-p-154719.html?osCsid=ijjl2im5cg4p7n3dm3k1cbpjv6

Voltage meter: MICTUNING MIC-VM DC 12V LED... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078LVLHNF?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Note: no affiliate links. All straight links!!!

This all started off with my wife saying that Lightning was a little too slow! I said no problem I got this.

So my first step was to investigate what was the best way to go about this. After a while of researching the best way, I realized that they are more or less oversized versions of my rc cars that I race. With that in mind I was able to do everything.

I started the conversion using just one of the motors. This was so I could make sure I was mentally doing it all right. While the transmission was close to the stock one, it was not a exact fit. I ended up having to trim away some extra plastic and make the opening larger.

Now that the motor and trans is in for the right side I had to start looking at the wiring. The wiring that is in there stock was 18 gauge and while technically will handle the 18v I wanted to be sure we did not melt any wires. I swapped it out one by one using the same 12 gauge wire I use in my RC cars.

The first wires I did was the battery connector. I found the connectors online and used a epoxy putty to make the socket. This ensures the connection is good to the battery.

I then proceeded to replace wires in the harness one by one till they were all replaced. Once it was all setup stock it was time to add in the speed controller. This allows me to turn the speed down (by adjusting the voltage.) I put it online between the battery and the rest of the wire harness. I did it here because it was not able to handle flipping the polarity for reverse. (Popped a fuse finding that out lol. )

Once this was wired up I was able to add in the “fuel gauge”. I put it in what is the “gas cap” on the car. This is a simple dc voltage meter. Nothing fancy here.

Once all that was wired. I needed to make a “Y” splitter for the motors. I know this puts them in parallel all the time and down the road I might change that but for now just forward and reverse was good enough.

Since this car was a single drive motor previously I had to completely make a new hole for this second motor. This was a bit simpler then making room for the first motor.

One thing to note on wiring the second motor. You will want to do it in reverse of the first one as it is spinning the opposite direction of the first motor.

After this was done they only thing I did was relocate the dial for the speed controller from on the speed controller to on the back of the car under the rear fender. This was so I can adjust it without having to remove the seat to adjust it. One thing I may still add is a master power switch. I know this car has one but due to positioning I had to put the battery meter before that switch.

One thing that is still a work in progress is I bought a mltoys brake reduction system. The problem is I was not sure which wire it should go to. This is not the typical plunger switch gas peddle. It is a 6 poll rocker switch. Once they get back to me with that I will get it installed so it is not as jerky on starts and stops.

I use these for most of the wires:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074PN6N4K/

and these for any carrying a lot of power or thicker gauge wire:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07CTRH86M/

you can search around, but there are some issues with knock-off ones melting and causing issues (the ender 3's stock ones among them). the one's I linked are pre-vetted by youtubers who independently tested a bunch to validate authenticity and quality when the issue was first brought to light.