L298N Dual H-Bridge Motor Driver

What is the L298N Dual H-Bridge Motor Driver?

The L298N is a classic dual H-bridge motor driver IC that lets you control the speed and direction of two DC motors (or one stepper motor) using a microcontroller like an Arduino. Think of it as a smart switch that can handle much higher currents than your microcontroller's pins can provide — up to 2 amps per channel. It takes low-voltage logic signals from your board and translates them into the higher voltage and current needed to spin motors in either direction, or even stop them.

Inside the L298N are two independent H-bridge circuits. Each bridge can drive a DC motor forward or backward, or you can combine both to drive a single bipolar stepper motor. You control everything through simple logic inputs: set a logic HIGH on one input and LOW on the other to spin a motor one way, then reverse the pins to go the other way. A separate enable pin lets you turn each motor on or off, and you can feed a PWM signal to that enable pin to adjust motor speed.

Key Specifications

Pinout

Always double-check pin assignments against the manufacturer datasheet for your specific revision, as some third-party breakout boards may reorder pins slightly.

Common Use Cases

• Controlling two independent DC motors in a robot chassis (differential drive)
• Driving a single bipolar stepper motor (e.g., NEMA 17) for precise positioning
• Controlling a conveyor belt motor or small linear actuator
• Building a homemade RC car or tank with tank-style steering
• Controlling high-power solenoids or relays (using one H-bridge channel)

Wiring Example

For the most common use case — controlling two DC motors with an Arduino — connect the motor power supply (7-12V) to the VS pin (pin 4) and GND of the L298N. Connect the Arduino's 5V output to VSS (pin 9) and common GND. For motor A, connect one motor lead to OUT1 (pin 2) and the other to OUT2 (pin 3). For motor B, connect its leads to OUT3 (pin 13) and OUT4 (pin 14). Connect ENA (pin 6) to Arduino pin 9 for PWM speed control, IN1 (pin 5) to Arduino pin 8, and IN2 (pin 7) to Arduino pin 7. For motor B, connect ENB (pin 11) to Arduino pin 10, IN3 (pin 10) to Arduino pin 11, and IN4 (pin 12) to Arduino pin 12. Finally, connect a large electrolytic capacitor (100µF to 1000µF) across VS and GND near the IC to smooth out power spikes from the motors.

Tips and Gotchas

• Never forget the common ground! The L298N's GND (pin 8) must be connected to your microcontroller's GND and your motor power supply's GND — otherwise the logic signals won't work and the chip may behave erratically.
• The L298N can get hot under load. If you're running motors near 1A or more, add a heatsink to the Multiwatt-15 package. The thermal pad on the back is the heat path — don't block it.
• If your motors don't spin, check the enable pins (ENA and ENB). They must be pulled HIGH (5V) or receive a PWM signal. Leaving them floating usually keeps the motors disabled.
• The L298N has a voltage drop of about 1.5-2V per channel, so a 12V motor supply will only deliver about 10-10.5V to the motors. Factor this into your design if speed or torque is critical.

Happy building — you've got the power to drive some serious motors now!

Tutorial

Control two DC motors or one stepper motor with this classic dual H‑bridge driver — add direction and PWM speed control to any robot or motor project.

// L298N Dual Motor Control - Arduino Uno/Nano
// Motor A: ENA=9, IN1=2, IN2=3
// Motor B: ENB=10, IN3=4, IN4=5

int enA = 9;
int in1 = 2;
int in2 = 3;
int enB = 10;
int in3 = 4;
int in4 = 5;

void setup() {
  pinMode(enA, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(in1, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(in2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(enB, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(in3, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(in4, OUTPUT);
  // Set initial PWM to off
  digitalWrite(enA, LOW);
  digitalWrite(enB, LOW);
}

void loop() {
  // Motor A forward at 75% speed
  digitalWrite(in1, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(in2, LOW);
  analogWrite(enA, 191);  // ~75% of 255
  // Motor B forward at 75% speed
  digitalWrite(in3, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(in4, LOW);
  analogWrite(enB, 191);
  delay(2000);

  // Stop motors
  digitalWrite(in1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in3, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in4, LOW);
  digitalWrite(enA, LOW);
  digitalWrite(enB, LOW);
  delay(1000);

  // Motor A reverse at full speed
  digitalWrite(in1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in2, HIGH);
  analogWrite(enA, 255);
  // Motor B reverse at full speed
  digitalWrite(in3, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in4, HIGH);
  analogWrite(enB, 255);
  delay(2000);

  // Stop
  digitalWrite(in1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in3, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in4, LOW);
  digitalWrite(enA, LOW);
  digitalWrite(enB, LOW);
  delay(1000);
}

[env:uno]
platform = atmelavr
board = uno
framework = arduino

// L298N Dual Motor Control - ESP32
// Uses LEDC PWM on GPIO13 (ENA) and GPIO25 (ENB)
// Motor A: ENA=GPIO13, IN1=GPIO12, IN2=GPIO14
// Motor B: ENB=GPIO25, IN3=GPIO27, IN4=GPIO26

const int enA = 13;
const int in1 = 12;
const int in2 = 14;
const int enB = 25;
const int in3 = 27;
const int in4 = 26;

const int freq = 5000;
const int pwmChannelA = 0;
const int pwmChannelB = 1;
const int resolution = 8;

void setup() {
  pinMode(in1, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(in2, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(in3, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(in4, OUTPUT);

  ledcSetup(pwmChannelA, freq, resolution);
  ledcSetup(pwmChannelB, freq, resolution);
  ledcAttachPin(enA, pwmChannelA);
  ledcAttachPin(enB, pwmChannelB);

  // Start with motors stopped
  ledcWrite(pwmChannelA, 0);
  ledcWrite(pwmChannelB, 0);
}

void loop() {
  // Motor A forward 75%
  digitalWrite(in1, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(in2, LOW);
  ledcWrite(pwmChannelA, 191);
  // Motor B forward 75%
  digitalWrite(in3, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(in4, LOW);
  ledcWrite(pwmChannelB, 191);
  delay(2000);

  // Stop
  digitalWrite(in1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in3, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in4, LOW);
  ledcWrite(pwmChannelA, 0);
  ledcWrite(pwmChannelB, 0);
  delay(1000);

  // Motor A reverse full speed
  digitalWrite(in1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in2, HIGH);
  ledcWrite(pwmChannelA, 255);
  // Motor B reverse full speed
  digitalWrite(in3, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in4, HIGH);
  ledcWrite(pwmChannelB, 255);
  delay(2000);

  // Stop
  digitalWrite(in1, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in2, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in3, LOW);
  digitalWrite(in4, LOW);
  ledcWrite(pwmChannelA, 0);
  ledcWrite(pwmChannelB, 0);
  delay(1000);
}

[env:esp32dev]
platform = espressif32
board = esp32dev
framework = arduino

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