4.5v battery box help

[Antonio]

Hello,i was browsing thro some electrical stuff in a bricklink shop when i came across this one

I wonder,can it be connected to lights?Or only to a 4.5v motor or how could i manage to connect 2 of these successively ,so i can connect them to a 9v one(if possible)?Im not good at these things,so any kind of help would be very welcome.

Thanks in advance!

[Boxerlego]

Hi Antonio, I dont think you can connect two of these boxes together to make 9 volts with out some cutting and rewiring. Also trying to power some lights with this battery is excessive and they would not be that bright at 4.5v. The old 9 volt battery box would be better at lighting a set of lights than that clunk. Hope this will help you

[Antonio]

Thanks!Then i will continue the hunt for some 9v stuff :)

[trekman]

I have one of them. They are very limited in their use. The two pin connector wire is different and not compatible with the newer 9v system. This means it will not connect, even with the power function adaptor wires. if you really wanted something neat, buy one of the smaller 9v boxes that take the single 9v battery.

[Splat]

The battery box that the above posters are referring to is this one:

Electric 9V Battery Box Small

It was available between 1985 and 1998, in 22 sets, and came in black, white, red, or yellow.

These battery boxes were designed to be used with the Electric Light & Sound Bricks and coloured bulb covers, as well as the monorail motor, the older square 9v motors, the micro motor, the fiber optics element, and a few other devices.

But if you use a PF extension wire (here or here), you can use this battery box to power the PF Lights (LEDS). It can also power other PF components, but you are somewhat limited by the power of the 9V battery.

Edited January 4, 2013 by Splat

[Antonio]

Woah !Thanks for the extra info guys,since im going to make a space base i want it to have some lights and sound (alarm) so that really helps!Some more questions which are unclear for me,if i use the small 9v battery box ,can i use extender to power Electric Light & Sound bricks.How can i power more than 1 light Electric Light ,can i stack extenders one above another?What is the little blue bulb for?

Its so complicated ,yet interesting

[Kevinatorrr]

Woah !Thanks for the extra info guys,since im going to make a space base i want it to have some lights and sound (alarm) so that really helps!Some more questions which are unclear for me,if i use the small 9v battery box ,can i use extender to power Electric Light & Sound bricks.How can i power more than 1 light Electric Light ,can i stack extenders one above another?What is the little blue bulb for?

Its so complicated ,yet interesting

The little blue "bulb" is actually a cover for the light bricks shown in the same post. They also co e in red and maybe yelled, I can't remember. Without covers, those 9v lights have a similar glow to incandescent Christmas lights

[Alasdair Ryan]

The little blue "bulb" is actually a cover for the light bricks shown in the same post. They also co e in red and maybe yelled, I can't remember. Without covers, those 9v lights have a similar glow to incandescent Christmas lights

Yes I have as few of those light bulbs in:red,yellow,green,blue.

[Splat]

Woah !Thanks for the extra info guys,since im going to make a space base i want it to have some lights and sound (alarm) so that really helps!

No problem

Some more questions which are unclear for me,if i use the small 9v battery box ,can i use extender to power Electric Light & Sound bricks.How can i power more than 1 light Electric Light ,can i stack extenders one above another?

If you want to use multiple PF Lights (LEDs), then yes, they stack on top of each other (within reason).

You would have the 9V Small Battery Box, then one of the PF extension wires, then multiple PF Lights (LEDs) stacked on top of each other.

If you are making a space base, and have enough space (no pun intended), you could also use one of the PF Battery Boxes to power the PF Lights without the need to use the PF extension wire.

If you just want to use the old light bricks, then you don't need to use the new Power Functions (PF) system at all, just use the old 9v components.

What is the little blue bulb for?

The blue bulb is just a hollow cover that goes on top of the bulbs in the light bricks. As mentioned by Kevinatorrr, the light bricks use bulbs like older torches, not LEDs, so they give off a slightly yellow light without the bulb cover. The bulb covers were used to create coloured lights. Eg. red and blue for police/fire lights, yellow for construction, green for space (?).

Its so complicated ,yet interesting

Some more information for you...

Along the top of the 9V Small Battery Box are two rows of studs with metal electrical contacts on the sides. The light bricks and sound bricks sit on these studs.

There are plates that have these same electrical contacts, which can then be stacked upon each other, and can also change direction by 90 degrees.

There are also extension wires for this older 9V system in a variety of lengths:

So, if you want to light up your space base with 100% Lego parts, I would suggest one of the following options:

1. Use the 9v Small Battery Box with the older 9v Light Bricks, with the older 9v plates and extension wires.
   As this system has been phased out (last seen in about 2005), you would have to get the parts from Bricklink or similar.
   
2. Use the 9v Small Battery Box with the PF Extension Wire, and the PF Lights (LEDs).
   The 9v Small Battery Box was last available in 1998, so you would have to get this from Bricklink or similar.
   
3. Use a PF Battery Box, and the PF Lights (LEDs).
   These parts are currently available from Lego directly, or various other sellers (retailers, Bricklink, Ebay, etc).
   

If you don't mind using non-Lego parts, you might want to check out LifeLites which have been used in a number of Lego MOCs with great results. Some LifeLite kits are powered by little 'coin batteries', others by 2xAAA, which makes them very compact.

Some of the LifeLite kits also feature lighting patterns (the LEDs turn and and off in specific patterns), and this can add some life to an otherwise static diorama. Check out the LifeLites Flickr Photo Pool.

Here is a recent example of a MOC with non-Lego lights:

And behind the scenes (click the pics for more info):

I hope this information helps. Good luck with your space base.

Edited January 4, 2013 by Splat

[Antonio]

Thank you so much ,you answered all my questions!Im probably going with lego lights as a beginner