How can Lego power up hub run monster motor

[Alan1992]

I want to use Lego power up hub to run monster motor, I used exchange wire to connect them, but it does not work.

Could you please tell me how to fix it, thank you.

[Aurorasaurus]

52 minutes ago, Alan1992 said:

I want to use Lego power up hub to run monster motor, I used exchange wire to connect them, but it does not work.

Could you please tell me how to fix it, thank you.

How are your skills with soldering/electronics? You could probably cut the wire that connects to the powered up hub and try re-attach a new power functions plug to it. Maybe you could also swap the plug end of the monster motor to a powered up plug. 

From my experience, lego or lego compatible motors use the middle two wires of the PF wire, so you should join those 2 to the motor leads on the PU plug. Good luck!

Also, you could just buy a different exchange/adapter wire. I have bought 1 and made 2 myself, and one just doesn't work for no clear reason.

 

[Lixander]

Welp, from what I have seen, there might be 2x possible explanations:

1. As Aurorasaurus kind of mentioned, the wires of the adaptor wires are not soldered properly or in the right order. I bought a pack of 2x from China for a friend and the quality was surprisingly good, but they soldered the wires in the wrong order.

2. A bit more unlikely, but the connector might look like a Powered Up (PU) one, but has different specifications - for example, the CaDa ”crystal connector”, which seems to be similar with the PU one, but I don`t think it works with a PU port.

Edited June 9, 2025 by Lixander

[FriedlS]

I had the same problem with the adapter wire and Monster Motor. I solved the problem by connecting a PU Motor first when i start the hub and the controller (i use pybricks and Xbox Controller). Afterwards i disconnect the PU Motor and connect the Monster Motor instead of it. And then it worked. But to be honest, the Monster Motor need to  much power and the Hub always shut down under load.

[idlemarvel]

28 minutes ago, FriedlS said:

...But to be honest, the Monster Motor need to  much power and the Hub always shut down under load.

That is likely to be a problem if you use the 2-port "City/Train" hub. You might have more luck with the Technic 4-port hub. Are you using Powered Up hub to get Bluetooth control?

[Zerobricks]

Even if you can wire it correctly, the hub can't provide the required power...

[Alan1992]

22 hours ago, Aurorasaurus said:

How are your skills with soldering/electronics? You could probably cut the wire that connects to the powered up hub and try re-attach a new power functions plug to it. Maybe you could also swap the plug end of the monster motor to a powered up plug. 

From my experience, lego or lego compatible motors use the middle two wires of the PF wire, so you should join those 2 to the motor leads on the PU plug. Good luck!

Also, you could just buy a different exchange/adapter wire. I have bought 1 and made 2 myself, and one just doesn't work for no clear reason.

 

Thank you. I already bought the PF-PU wire, but it does not work...

21 hours ago, Lixander said:

Welp, from what I have seen, there might be 2x possible explanations:

1. As Aurorasaurus kind of mentioned, the wires of the adaptor wires are not soldered properly or in the right order. I bought a pack of 2x from China for a friend and the quality was surprisingly good, but they soldered the wires in the wrong order.

2. A bit more unlikely, but the connector might look like a Powered Up (PU) one, but has different specifications - for example, the CaDa ”crystal connector”, which seems to be similar with the PU one, but I don`t think it works with a PU port.

Thank you. I also bought the PF-PU wire from China, but it does not work...

Could you please tell me what does this mean? "for example, the CaDa ”crystal connector”, which seems to be similar with the PU one, but I don`t think it works with a PU port"

20 hours ago, FriedlS said:

I had the same problem with the adapter wire and Monster Motor. I solved the problem by connecting a PU Motor first when i start the hub and the controller (i use pybricks and Xbox Controller). Afterwards i disconnect the PU Motor and connect the Monster Motor instead of it. And then it worked. But to be honest, the Monster Motor need to  much power and the Hub always shut down under load.

I also tried this way, but it does not work...

17 hours ago, Zerobricks said:

Even if you can wire it correctly, the hub can't provide the required power...

I use the Technic 4-port hub in 42160, it should be enough..

[Lixander]

2 hours ago, Alan1992 said:

Could you please tell me what does this mean? "for example, the CaDa ”crystal connector”, which seems to be similar with the PU one, but I don`t think it works with a PU port"

Yup, of course.......I was referring to a clone-brand that made a similar connector with the PU, but they are not compatible.

Edited June 10, 2025 by Lixander

[Zerobricks]

5 hours ago, Alan1992 said:

I use the Technic 4-port hub in 42160, it should be enough..

No, it won't be... PU hubs can output a Max of around 500 mA, perhaps 1 A if you use both ports, but these motors can draw over 2 A. 

[Stormyy]

9 hours ago, Lixander said:

Yup, of course.......I was referring to a clone-brand that made a similar connector with the PU, but they are not compatible.

Please, could you send me name of that brand in PM? Thanks

[dr_spock]

Do you have access to a digital multimeter?  It can help verify that the wires are connected to the correct pins.  Also measure how much current the monster motor is drawing.  LEGO devices some times have a 800mA limit before the resetable fuse kicks in.

[guilhermelimait]

Hi dear, 

If you would like to, you can buy solutions like this one where they have already created an adapter, and in some cases, they have even longer lengths, there are many online.

https://pv-productions.com/product/powered-up-to-9v-system-adapter/

Edited June 16, 2025 by guilhermelimait

[allanp]

PU hubs can't provide enough power. They barely provide enough power for the current PU motors as even these can cause it to say it's overloaded. You're kinda stuck with their puny power output. Using a more powerful motor won't give you any advantage.

One other solution might be to use a pu motor plugged into the pu hub to instead switch a different battery box (or a couple of battery boxes!) which in turn powers the more powerful motors. This way you could have as many battery boxes and motors driven from a single PU port as you like, provided the PU motor has the power to switch the battery boxs! 

I'm not sure what the current limitations are of other battery boxes, perhaps another member can say, but the Technic set 8421 mobile crane uses one of the old 9v battery boxes to power a buggy motor. The battery box from 8287 is also used to power a buggy motor though they might be harder to get.