In this article you learn how to configure a connector cable for the Makita LXT digital interface:
Overview
Makita LXT batteries (18 V tool batteries) feature a yellow interface connector. The way it is constructed, you cannot easily connect wires to it.
To access it reliably, get yourself a Makita yellow charger connector terminal cable.
These cables are repair parts for Makita chargers and commonly available at Amazon or AliExpress.
Purchase a 2-pack, they cost roughly as much as a single pack.
Default Connector Cable
The standard 7-pin yellow connector cable has six wires attached. On the other end, they are connected to a white 6-pin JST-SM (Small Molex-style) female connector.
Understanding Required Wires
Out of the six wires, only two are needed:
- Enable (Pin 6):
Must be pulled high before and during communication on pin 2. - 1-Wire Data (Pin 2):
1-Wire data communication with specific Makita timings. Standard 1-Wire timing seems to work well enough, too.
Configuring the Cable
While using the default cable connector (6-pin JST-SM Small Molex-style) is perfectly ok, it has challenges and disadvantages:
- fitting JST-SM male connectors are harder to get
- its 2.5mm pitch does not fit DIY PCBs
- you just need two wires, so using a six-wire connector is wasting space and adds complexity.
2-Pin JST-XT 2.56
A better approach may be to reconfigure the connector to a 2-pin JST XT 2.54mm pitch plug. This plug is readily available, cheap, small, simple to crimp, and fits perfectly the 2.56mm pitch of typical PCBs.
JST XT connectors are wider than the Makita plug, so if you plan to mount the yellow connector in a housing, you cannot slide JST XT connectors through the mounting hole. Use a more narrow connector type in this case. The principles stay the same.
Custom Connectors
That said, if you are not comfortable with crimping, just do the first step (remove unnecessary wires), and connect the wires in any way you prefer.
While you can solder the connector wires directly to your microcontroller/PCB, using some sort of plug is preferrable: it lets you re-purpose the connector easily once your projects mature, and temporarily detaching the connector may be required to fit it into 3D-printed enclosures.
Removing Unneeded Wires
Out of the six wires, only two are needed: identify these two wires:
Cut off the other four wires.
The two wires remaining are the second wires from each side (pins 2 and 6):
This gives you the yellow Makita plug with two wires attached.
Fitting JST XT 2.54 Plug
Remove the insulation of the cable ends, and crimp JST XT female connector pins to them.
Slide the connectors into a 2-pin female JST XT housing until they firmly snap into place:
Fitting Pull-Up Resistors
For communication, both lines must be pulled up. You can place the 4.7 kΩ resistors on the MCU side, but for many use cases, it is much easier and cleaner to directly integrate them into the connector:
Adding Resistors
Solder 4.7 kΩ resistors to each of the two data pins, and use shrink-tube to safely insulate them:
Adding Pull-Up Line
Connect both resistors, and solder one wire to it. You can now pull both lines up when you power this wire with 3.3V (or 5V for Arduinos).
Add a larger shrink tube to safely enclose everything:
You now have a connector with three wires:
- Data Enable
- 1-Wire
- VCC (pullup voltage)
This lowers complexity on the MCU side considerably. All you need to do now is plug in the yellow Makita connector, and conect the three wires to your MCU -done.
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(content created May 11, 2026)