Fragile wires or not

[jorgeopesi]

Lately I have broken down 3 standar motors, all because of the wires, all my MOCs are very small and the place for cables is always low. How often do you break the cables?, I think that my case is normal, 4 standar motors and 1 XL broken in 7 or 8 years always using the same motors MOC after MOC It's understandable.

[dr_spock]

Somehow I managed to nick two wires on my Power Function Train Motor.  It still works.  Otherwise, I haven't broken any other wires in my years as an AFOL.  I burned out a few M-motors in my GBCs though. 

PF motors with broken wires seem like good candidates to rewire for use with a microcontroller like Arduino or ESP8266 with motor driver type LEGO projects.

 

 

 

[JJ2]

I have pretty much broken both my M-motors, a Servo motor, and a XL-Motor, all because the wires are bad :(

[Technivor]

Me I have broken I think 4 m-motor 2 or three XL and one servo but the damages where always inside the motor so I've found a way to fix them if they are damage Inside to you can easily fix it, just cut 1 or 2 cm of wire and reconnect them and it will be ok! The servo is the only one I have not tried to fix!

[offroadcreations]

 I have broken 2 l motors, 2 servos, and a v1 and v2 receiver, all because of damaged wires. 

Edited January 8, 2017 by Offroadcreat1ons

[Milan]

Wow, guys! I used all kinds of PF motors and receivers since they first shown up, and so far, not even one got damaged. True, I did not bend or put the wires to any kind of pressure.

[JJ2]

48 minutes ago, Milan said:

Wow, guys! I used all kinds of PF motors and receivers since they first shown up, and so far, not even one got damaged. True, I did not bend or put the wires to any kind of pressure.

That's probably why mine are breaking, when I only have limited space I bend those wires to fit the space.

[nerdsforprez]

1 hour ago, Milan said:

Wow, guys! I used all kinds of PF motors and receivers since they first shown up, and so far, not even one got damaged. True, I did not bend or put the wires to any kind of pressure.

I agree with this post.  I have not broken any wires.  But.... I have worked a lot with third party lights and I have gotten really, really used to being careful (third party lights are incredibly small and versatile, but that means they also break very, very easily.  I try not to smash, pull, or place too much stress on them as much as I can.  Being one who dabbles a lot with other little electric hobbies...... I would say Lego PF is by far the strongest.  I have pulled out several, or otherwise damaged the electronics or motors in my RC cars.   And that is when even being careful.  But never Lego.......

[jorgeopesi]

37 minutes ago, JJ2 said:

That's probably why mine are breaking, when I only have limited space I bend those wires to fit the space.

The same thing happens to me, I think my problem is very small MOCs and too much wires compressed inside each, I suppose that they have damage in some points. Besides this is the fact of testing and testing and dismantling and mounting, building a MOC is not like following instructions.

[skppo]

I have broken a few M-motors and I assume the issue is the connection of the wire right where it goes inside the case of the motor. This is because some of them worked if I applied pressure to that area. Im not sure how I've caused the damage. I don't think I'm being too rough with them. Dangling them by the wires maybe? Aren't these supposed to be strong enough for children to play with?

It's also a bit annoying that they are so hard to open without damaging them as the case is probably the most expensive part.

Edited January 9, 2017 by skppo

[syclone]

In only three years: 2x m-motors, PF switch and the wire on the receiver wasn't working once 

I would say that yes, they are fragile. But he positive part is that Lego replaced both of the broken ones and now I have 4 m-motors :)

Edited January 9, 2017 by LXF

[letsbuild]

I have damaged many wires on my models, leading to unusable motors, collecting dust. It's scary how fragile they are.

[Blakbird]

Wow, I have never had this problem.  I have hundreds of PF motors and I have never had one of them have a wire issue.

[AkiyamaWataru]

I can second Blakbird's view. I had the experience to chew on some cables by 2 hardcoupled L-Motors and the Motor is running fine still. No issues there

[J_C]

I have never had an issue of this kind (I do not have hundreds of motors like Blakbird  ) . Not with new motors, not even with old one from 80s. But I am careful with my LEGO. Something I learned as kid when LEGO was virtually impossible to get in shops and was totally expensive. My attitude to bricks is deeply embedded. 

[Epic Technic]

I broke like 3M motors, damaged a servo, damaged an XL motor, damaged 2 receivers, and broke a PF switch. Lego really needs to up their wire game.

[jorgeopesi]

Well I have to say again that my motors have run on 7 or 8 MOCs, I think collectors will have less issues.

[ColletArrow]

One of my motors currently has a dodgy connection that only works with pressure, and one IR receiver has had it's wire cut and re-soldered at the plug. I guess that's because my applications tend to involve tight spaces and corners, and not treating these components with as much respect as they deserve.

[DrJB]

Interesting. Are you sure you're not operating the motors in cold conditions where the rubber/elastomer becomes more brittle?

It could also be 'fast' aging of the rubber as many of the old Mindstorms cables were prone to. I'm sure TLG would happily replace those if it is the case. Does not hurt to ask though.

Edited January 10, 2017 by DrJB

[That_LEGO_Guy]

Broken 3 M motors 2 Xl motors and 2 receivers, I pulled part 1 of each and exposed the power wires on all the motors and the issue seems to be the connector always the connector never the actual part.I'd prefer if they stayed with the old 9v era connector , too bad  I wasn't around for it. managed to fix 1 but removed the connector from one of the receivers and wired it up to a 12v battery charger to get some use testing things while building, seems to withstand it ok, but never run for more than a minute.

[jorgeopesi]

My wife gave me a very good idea when I was going to throw away the motor, as I break the wires while I look for the best position for them inside the MOCs, she told me to keep the broken engines for that and when I find the best position put one that works, I think I will save some motors with the idea.