Answers.Body: <p>Let's take a look. The first step to disassembling the motor is removing the small Philips screw on the bottom:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/DyEH0.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/DyEH0.jpg" alt="bottom screw"></a></p>
  
  <p>Now there are a pair of gray tabs in the back white section that we need to release. I found it easiest to cut them down with a knife. Once those are free, the white section slides backwards away from the motor. Try to do this gently, as there are several gears inside that may go flying and be difficult to find.</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/0aLu2.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/0aLu2.jpg" alt="sliding open"></a></p>
  
  <p>The motor will be left in the back section.</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/w0fu2.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/w0fu2.jpg" alt="white with motor"></a></p>
  
  <p>It isn't fixed in place, so you can simply slide it free of the housing.</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/sKZG4.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/sKZG4.jpg" alt="just the motor"></a></p>
  
  <p>We can see that the PCB contains only a few very simple components. I believe that the larger element in the middle is a resettable fuse, and the smaller one on the left is a capacitor across the motor pins to minimize electrical noise. The tiny black element on the right is a 2.2kOhm resistor between pins 5 and 6 that allows the hub to identify this as an M motor.</p>
  
  <p>We also have the gray section of the motor:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/idXDe.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/idXDe.jpg" alt="gray section"></a></p>
  
  <p>Down in the end, there is a planetary gearbox that slides out:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/zhjjF.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/zhjjF.jpg" alt="gearbox"></a></p>
  
  <p>The gearbox simply slides open:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/ezzws.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/ezzws.jpg" alt="gearbox internals"></a></p>
  
  <p>It contains two sets of planetary gears:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/cyAQL.jpg" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/cyAQL.jpg" alt="planetary gears"></a></p>
  
  <p>Overall, this is very similar to the PF M motor with the addition of a small PCB and a resistor to facilitate the component detection used by Powered Up. It's worth noting that this is the same motor used in WeDo 2.0.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-09-25T13:33:25.693Z
Answers.Text: Question:  The picture shows the tiny black speck on the right side sitting  between pins 3/4.  Does the board's circuitry somehow make the connectivity flow between pins 5/6?
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rin Rio-Oki
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-09-25T14:30:30.857Z
Answers.Text: @RinRio-Oki Yes. The brighter green lines on the PCB are the conductive traces. You can see that there are two traces coming off the resistor solder pads connecting them to pins 5 and 6.
Answers.UserDisplayName: jncraton
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-09-28T11:10:52.503Z
Answers.Text: Nice write-up. @RinRio-Oki the reason they'd do that is the resistor and other surface mount components would be placed by a machine and reflow soldered in an oven first, then someone would solder the wires on by hand. So they've just put the resistor in the middle and joined it with the PCB tracks so it doesn't get in the way of hand-soldering the wires on.
Answers.UserDisplayName: PeterJ
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-09-28T14:45:57.317Z
Answers.Text: Yes, a beautiful write-up.  2nd Question: Is there an alternative to the physical cutting of the gray holding tabs?  Does it all snap snugly back together?  I'm not preaching LEGO Puritanism, but the piece isn't common, like say... a 1x1 plate, where I can walk away from a Pick-a-Brick Wall with a few thousand, and not care if I put a string through them for a necklace.  As for Gray Two-tabs, I have to treat it special because of its rarity.  So, would maybe an alternate use of a tiny flat head screwdriver or something to help keep me pure?
Answers.UserDisplayName: Rin Rio-Oki
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-09-28T15:14:37.853Z
Answers.Text: @RinRio-Oki There may be cleaner methods of getting this open. I wasn't able to force things apart using a screwdriver. I was afraid I would deform one or both sections of the plastic if I used more force, so I decided to just cut down the tabs a bit. The motor still holds together just fine. Remember, this section is also screwed in place from the bottom, so you don't have to worry about it falling off.
Answers.UserDisplayName: jncraton
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2022-08-21T19:40:13.083Z
Answers.Text: Thanks for the write-up! I teach kids using WeDo 2.0 but now we have about 20 motors that are not working well anymore. I've tried to re-solder the ribbon cable and that's worked on some of them. But we're seeing that, after 5-years of usage, the motors themselves seem to be getting worn out. So I would like to replace them and want to make sure i get the right ones. Are these just simple 3v DC hobby motors? They look like them. I've looked online and I don't see a motor driver or anything in the circuit. Can anyone recommend a replacement motor to get these working for the kids again? Thank y
Answers.UserDisplayName: TIkku22
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2024-10-27T04:23:40.317Z
Answers.Text: Thank you for sharing the motor information here in this post. I would like to know if you happen to know what type of motor is used, such as its voltage, speed, and torque? I would like to buy one as a replacement, but when I search by the number written on it, I can't find anything; even on the manufacturer's website, I couldn't find an identical motor.
Answers.UserDisplayName: Alessandro Cesco
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2024-10-27T11:13:57.437Z
Answers.Text: @AlessandroCesco I don't know the specific electromechanical specifications, but these certainly look like standard 130 toy/hobby motors.
Answers.UserDisplayName: jncraton
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2018-09-22T19:13:09.507Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2018-09-23T22:42:58.137Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2018-09-23T22:42:58.137Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: jncraton
Body: <p>What is inside the M motor in the new Powered Up system? How is it different from the older Power Functions motor?</p>
  
Tags: <piece-information><motor><electronics><powered-up><disassembly>
Title: What is inside the LEGO Powered Up M motor?
UserDisplayName: jncraton
ThreadText: # What is inside the LEGO Powered Up M motor?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2018-09-22)
  
  What is inside the M motor in the new Powered Up system? How is it different from the older Power Functions motor?
  
  **Tags:** piece-information, motor, electronics, powered-up, disassembly
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_0 on 2018-09-22. Score: 12 | Accepted answer
  
  Let's take a look. The first step to disassembling the motor is removing the small Philips screw on the bottom:
  
  [![bottom screw](https://i.sstatic.net/DyEH0.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/DyEH0.jpg)
  
  Now there are a pair of gray tabs in the back white section that we need to release. I found it easiest to cut them down with a knife. Once those are free, the white section slides backwards away from the motor. Try to do this gently, as there are several gears inside that may go flying and be difficult to find.
  
  [![sliding open](https://i.sstatic.net/0aLu2.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/0aLu2.jpg)
  
  The motor will be left in the back section.
  
  [![white with motor](https://i.sstatic.net/w0fu2.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/w0fu2.jpg)
  
  It isn't fixed in place, so you can simply slide it free of the housing.
  
  [![just the motor](https://i.sstatic.net/sKZG4.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/sKZG4.jpg)
  
  We can see that the PCB contains only a few very simple components. I believe that the larger element in the middle is a resettable fuse, and the smaller one on the left is a capacitor across the motor pins to minimize electrical noise. The tiny black element on the right is a 2.2kOhm resistor between pins 5 and 6 that allows the hub to identify this as an M motor.
  
  We also have the gray section of the motor:
  
  [![gray section](https://i.sstatic.net/idXDe.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/idXDe.jpg)
  
  Down in the end, there is a planetary gearbox that slides out:
  
  [![gearbox](https://i.sstatic.net/zhjjF.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/zhjjF.jpg)
  
  The gearbox simply slides open:
  
  [![gearbox internals](https://i.sstatic.net/ezzws.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/ezzws.jpg)
  
  It contains two sets of planetary gears:
  
  [![planetary gears](https://i.sstatic.net/cyAQL.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/cyAQL.jpg)
  
  Overall, this is very similar to the PF M motor with the addition of a small PCB and a resistor to facilitate the component detection used by Powered Up. It's worth noting that this is the same motor used in WeDo 2.0.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_1**: Question:  The picture shows the tiny black speck on the right side sitting  between pins 3/4.  Does the board's circuitry somehow make the connectivity flow between pins 5/6?  
  > **username_0**: @RinRio-Oki Yes. The brighter green lines on the PCB are the conductive traces. You can see that there are two traces coming off the resistor solder pads connecting them to pins 5 and 6.  
  > **username_2**: Nice write-up. @RinRio-Oki the reason they'd do that is the resistor and other surface mount components would be placed by a machine and reflow soldered in an oven first, then someone would solder the wires on by hand. So they've just put the resistor in the middle and joined it with the PCB tracks so it doesn't get in the way of hand-soldering the wires on.  
  > **username_1**: Yes, a beautiful write-up.  2nd Question: Is there an alternative to the physical cutting of the gray holding tabs?  Does it all snap snugly back together?  I'm not preaching LEGO Puritanism, but the piece isn't common, like say... a 1x1 plate, where I can walk away from a Pick-a-Brick Wall with a few thousand, and not care if I put a string through them for a necklace.  As for Gray Two-tabs, I have to treat it special because of its rarity.  So, would maybe an alternate use of a tiny flat head screwdriver or something to help keep me pure?  
  > **username_0**: @RinRio-Oki There may be cleaner methods of getting this open. I wasn't able to force things apart using a screwdriver. I was afraid I would deform one or both sections of the plastic if I used more force, so I decided to just cut down the tabs a bit. The motor still holds together just fine. Remember, this section is also screwed in place from the bottom, so you don't have to worry about it falling off.  
  > **username_3**: Thanks for the write-up! I teach kids using WeDo 2.0 but now we have about 20 motors that are not working well anymore. I've tried to re-solder the ribbon cable and that's worked on some of them. But we're seeing that, after 5-years of usage, the motors themselves seem to be getting worn out. So I would like to replace them and want to make sure i get the right ones. Are these just simple 3v DC hobby motors? They look like them. I've looked online and I don't see a motor driver or anything in the circuit. Can anyone recommend a replacement motor to get these working for the kids again? Thank y  
  > **username_4**: Thank you for sharing the motor information here in this post. I would like to know if you happen to know what type of motor is used, such as its voltage, speed, and torque? I would like to buy one as a replacement, but when I search by the number written on it, I can't find anything; even on the manufacturer's website, I couldn't find an identical motor.  
  > **username_0**: @AlessandroCesco I don't know the specific electromechanical specifications, but these certainly look like standard 130 toy/hobby motors.  
  
  ---
  
  