[Dan MacMillan]

Hi everyone,

I recently acquired two Hedstrom Probe VIs, both is relatively nice shape, and need some help getting them going for my boys. Any assistance would be much appreciated.

1. In the battery compartment is a wiring harness with the plug pictured in my two pictures below. This plug originally then connected to a Y-cable, which then connected to two 6V batteries. This is depicted in the scan from the manual, which is also below. I do not have this Y-cable for either toy. Given that they are relatively rare, I'd rather not cut off the plugs, but instead make an adapter to connect a modern battery or batteries.

Does anyone know where I can obtain a male version of this plug? I've searched the web without success for a 4 connector plug like this, with the "D" pins oriented as they are in the picture.

This toy originally had two 6V batteries connected, and has a slow/fast button. I would like to connect a single 12V battery if possible, but am wondering if this switch worked by disabling one of the batteries in the slow mode. Regarding batteries, we have another vehicle which uses the grey Fisher Price 12V batteries, and we have a few of those and a charger, so I'd like to configure the Probe VI for use with one of those if that makes sense.

2. These toys were apparently catching on fire, and were recalled : http://recalls.justia.com/infants-and-c ... /img/5568/

My units are in the recalled range. They fix was apparently to add a fuse to the wiring harness, and a kit was being distributed by Hedstrom at one time. I don't have any more detail than that, however. I know that they grey Fisher Price batteries have a fuse in the battery housing. Will that satisfy the need, or should I also add one to the Probe VI harness itself? Obviously, I want to do this safely, so any thoughts appreciated.


Thank you very much!
-Dan

[Suburbancharlie77]

The body on mine is yellow, and my plug is much different... you have a 4 flat, mine is a 6 wire rectangle molex plug, it may even have 8 terminals on it, I forget?. It allows the use when wired one way of 6 volt, probably wiring them parallel to be slow, and when the plug is inserted the opposite way runs the wires so the batteries are in series at 12 volt. I think the batteries I have are individually wired with 30 amp fuses if my memory serves me right? You can probably find the end you need from an electronic shop locally by asking for a "MOLEX" plug, it'll be rather inexpensive, and probably take you buying a few before you find the right one? Possibly try a radio shack? If you've done enough research to find that there's a recall, and can't find the harness, I'm guessing the company is out of business??? In that case, sticking to "stock" really shouldn't be a priority. I don't know what gauge the wiring is, but can say that it does get warm when wired high speed 12 volt, and if you're planning to run 12V exclusively, that maintaining the stock look to run a different battery is quite goofy. If you've been looking around for a while, and know ultimately that you're changing things, just admit it, wire it as safe as you can with an inline fuse regardless of the batteries you use, and be done with it. I can't ever seem to post a photo, so don't expect to be seeing one, but depending on the children's ages using this, you may consider getting 2 6 volt batteries, as it definitely helps to get used to it running slow. I'll see if I can dig it out to look at it, but I'm not sure how much it's really going to help seeing that their different. Hi/low wasn't a button, but how the plug (mid harness) between the batteries and the joystick was placed.

[Roadmonkeytj]

http://www.vetco.net/catalog/product_in ... AvO38P8HAQ
Your local auto parts or radio shack carry various sizes .. Find the right size to fit .. install wires .. Tape with it plugged is so it want move .. Exopy the wires and end of the insulation .. Once dry you've made your own plug for half the cost.