17
votes
Accepted
How can I motorize 42077 Technic Rally Car with LEGO Power Functions?
With some Power Functions elements and a few extra pieces, it's pretty easy to turn the Rally Car into an RC car.
Here's a quick demo video of my design in action.
And here are the instructions I ...
16
votes
Accepted
How much current do the LEGO motors draw?
YES! Philippe Hurbain (Philo) has put together a great and very detailed write-up on those and many other LEGO 9V electric motors.
You can find it here: LEGO 9V Technic Motors compared ...
11
votes
Why are there 4 wires leading to the Power Functions LEGO train motor?
The LEGO Power Functions connectors have 4 standard designations regardless of the usage:
9V power
"0V" Ground
C1 "control 1"
C2 "control 2"
It seems for motors that the 9V and Ground are unused. ...
9
votes
Accepted
Custom Power Functions plug design
I eventually made my design available for download over at Shapeways with a CC BY-NC-SA license (login is required in order to download the STL file).
I tested it at my local maker space in PLA on a ...
9
votes
Accepted
9V Battery instead of PF Battery Box
Most Power Functions pieces will run in classic 9V mode. The IR receiver can't, but motors and lights can.
A hacky solution:
Many people have done this by cutting up an extension wire, and ...
8
votes
What are the various LEGO motors that have been produced over the years?
For a comprehensive enumeration and measurements on all motors, refer to Philo's excellent page on this topic: http://www.philohome.com/motors/motorcomp.htm
There are some LEGO motors that are ...
8
votes
Accepted
Is the LEGO BOOST kit compatible with EV3 or PowerFunctions motors and sensors?
While LEGO BOOST is compatible with the bricks from other sets, the motor, distance sensor, and Move Hub are not electrically compatible with current EV3 or PowerFunctions components. BOOST uses the ...
Community wiki
8
votes
Accepted
Lego Technic 42048 with LEGO 8293
Well the thing with LEGO, (Technic, Classic, Mindstorms or whichever category you talk about) is that it is customizable. You might not get instructions to combine Power Functions with this kit but ...
8
votes
Does a LEGO Technic Power Functions L Motor work with a v1 receiver?
Yes, they appear in combination in the 42030 and 42095 sets.
The L motor only appears in combination with the V2 receiver in the 41999 and 9398 sets.
In my experience, there is a small performance ...
7
votes
Custom Power Functions plug design
I make a print (with silicon) of the Lego PF socket, in 2 halves.
I just need the C1 and C2 electrical contacts, so I'm just dealing with them, but you can go for the 4 contacts.
So in the bottom ...
7
votes
How do I connect two models to one PF motor?
As an addition to Ambo100's very nicely detailed answer, I'd like to add one more option: If either of the two things you are powering might suffer from friction (or perhaps a child holding it still), ...
7
votes
Accepted
Augment LEGO City Mobile Command Center 60139 with Power Functions LEGO 8293?
You are not likely going to be able to add the power functions motor to this set without some major modifications. The truck in the set uses pin type wheel connections, the motors normally use technic ...
7
votes
Accepted
Can I use two remote-controlled LEGO Tracked Racers 42065 simultaneously?
Yes, LEGO's Power Function IR elements have 4 different channels you can switch between with an orange slider on the receivers and remotes, so you can run up to 4 at a time.
7
votes
Accepted
Confused about Power Functions M-motor 8883 and 8293
Yes, both items contain the same M-Motor part.
7
votes
Accepted
Which resistor value is used for which motor in Power Functions 2.0?
M Motor (Powered Up/WeDo 2.0)
The M motor has a 2.2kΩ resistor between pins 5 and 6. Pin 6 is connected directly to pin 3.
LED Lights
I don't own any lights yet, but according to this post, they ...
7
votes
Advice on Power Functions for an 11-year-old?
The easiest way to start out with Power Functions is to get an official LEGO set that comes with Power Functions. This will allow your child to really understand how Power Functions works.
If he is ...
7
votes
How long does it take a M-motor to go 1 googol rotations?
According to Philo's LEGO motor datasheet an unladen PF-M motor rotates with 405 RPM.
One googol is ...
6
votes
Which is faster: M motor or XL motor?
Theoretically, in terms of power (speed • torque), the XL Motor is faster than the L Motor and M Motor. The reason being, you can gear up the XL Motor 2:1 and have the following output: running torque ...
6
votes
Accepted
What LEGO Power Functions parts do I need to make an RC car?
Your assumptions appear to be mostly correct. Just for clarity, these are the minimum parts required:
A battery box
A motor for driving
A motor for steering (unless you want to try a steer-on-reverse ...
6
votes
Problems with New LEGO Cargo Train
I would start by breaking down the problem into a few simple checks:
Take the battery pack out of the engine of the train and press the green button. Does the green LED light turn on? If no, there is ...
6
votes
Accepted
Running Power Functions Train Without IR Receiver/Remote
There is a fairly easy and cheap way to do this since you don't want real variable speed control. As you noted, connecting the AAA battery box directly to the PF train motor technically works, but the ...
6
votes
How do I connect two models to one PF motor?
Regardless of the models, you can always connect a single motor to one or more models by splitting the axle using (for example) angular wheels or bevel gears.
I covered two ways of transmitting ...
6
votes
Accepted
AA Battery Packs 54950c01 vs 59510c01
The main functional difference between these is the electrical connector. The one with the red switch uses the old style 9V connection, while the one with the orange switch uses the newer Power ...
6
votes
Accepted
What is the quietest LEGO motor?
I don't think it would be practical to evaluate every LEGO motors sound output, almost all LEGO motors are fairly noisy so I think it is best to address the problem of a noisy motor in general.
My ...
6
votes
LEGO Powered Up substitution for Power Functions Motor Set 8293
As with old sets and systems (Power Functions (PF) in this case) are being retired supplementary sets become discontinued as well. There are couple of ways you could handle this situation.
Power ...
5
votes
Accepted
How to run "Power Functions" devices from an electric wall plug?
What you describe is indeed the most common way to GBC modules, but it's worth noting that one adaptor+regulator can typically power more modules (it depends on the modules), sometimes only one end of ...
5
votes
How to run "Power Functions" devices from an electric wall plug?
I just happened to finish a homemade solution to this problem a few days ago — so while I can say this works, it isn't exactly long-tested. I made an adapter to connect a 9V power source to the ...
5
votes
Accepted
2016: which Power Functions for controllable car?
If you have no technic and no power functions you will need to get quite a lot. You could buy small technic sets to get enough parts to build the moving parts and you your current collection, or buy a ...
5
votes
My grandson wants a LEGO motor. What should I get?
You say he is looking for a "Power Motor", which sounds like he is referring to the LEGO Power Functions line. The bare minimum you need to get a spinning motor would be one of the battery boxes and ...
5
votes
My grandson wants a LEGO motor. What should I get?
While Alexander's answer is completely correct, I wanted to provide an alternative that may work a little better while being a bit more expensive. Buying a motor and battery box is certainly the ...
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
Related Tags
power-functions × 137motor × 45
technic × 41
trains × 26
remote-control × 18
electronics × 16
repair × 7
mindstorms × 6
ev3 × 5
powered-up × 5
battery × 5
9v × 5
building × 4
shopping × 4
city × 4
customization × 4
set-modification × 4
piece-information × 3
sets × 3
clone-brands × 3
compatibility × 3
gears × 3
3rd-party × 3
vehicle × 3
programming × 2