L293D Motor Driver IC

L293D is a 16 Pin Motor Driver IC. This is designed to provide bidirectional drive currents at
voltages from 5 V to 36 V.
The L293D is a 16 pin IC, with eight pins, on each side, to controlling of two DC motor
simultaneously. There are 4 INPUT pins, 4 OUTPUT pins and 2 ENABLE pin for each motor.

Pin 1: When Enable1/2 is HIGH, left part of IC will work, i.e. motor connected with pin 3 and pin
6 will rotate.
Pin 2: Input 1, when this pin is HIGH the current will flow though output 1.
Pin 3: Output 1, this pin is connected with one terminal of motor.
Pin 4/5: GND pins
Pin 6: Output 2, this pin is connected with one terminal of motor.
Pin 7: Input 2, when this pin is HIGH the current will flow though output 2.
Pin 8: VSS, this pin is used to give power supply to connected motors from 5V to 36V maximum
depends on Motor connected.
Pin 9: When Enable 3/4 is HIGH, Right part of IC will work, i.e. motor connected with pin 11 and
pin 14 will rotate.
Pin 10: Input 4, when this pin is HIGH the current will flow though output 4.
Pin 11: Output 4, this pin is connected with one terminal of motor.
Pin 12/13: GND pins
Pin 14: Output 3, this pin is connected with one terminal of motor.
Pin 15: Input 3, when this pin is HIGH the current will flow though output 3.
Pin 16: VCC, for supply power to IC i.e. 5V.
Connections with Arduino
1. Module 5V (VCC) - Arduino 5V.
2. Module GND - Arduino GND.
3. Module 1 - Arduino D8.
4. Module 2 - Arduino D9.
5. Module 3 - Arduino D10.
6. Module 4 - Arduino D11.
7. Module Motor terminals - DC motors.
8. Module VSS power terminal- External power source of 9V.

Make the connection as shown above. Make sure that the Jumpers are pre-set on the Enable 1-2
and Enable 3-4 pins of module, so that motor will be enabled and work at maximum speed.
Working Mechanism
Rotation of motor depends on Enable Pins. When Enable 1/2 is HIGH, motor connected to left
part of IC will rotate according to following manner:

INPUT 1 INPUT 2 RESULT

0 0 Stop
0 1 Anti-Clockwise
1 0 Clockwise
1 1 Stop

H-Bridge Circuit
A H bridge is an electronic circuit that allows a voltage to be applied across a load in any direction.
H-bridge circuits are frequently used in robotics and many other applications to allow DC motors
to run forward & backward. These motor control circuits are mostly used in different converters
like DC-DC, DC-AC, AC-AC converters and many other types of power electronic converters. In
specific, a bipolar stepper motor is always driven by a motor controller having two H-bridges.

A H-bridge is fabricated with four switches like S1, S2, S3 and S4. When the S1 and S4 switches
are closed, then a +ve voltage will be applied across the motor. By opening the switches S1 and
S4 and closing the switches S2 and S3, this voltage is inverted, allowing invert operation of the
motor.
Generally, the H-bridge motor driver circuit is used to reverse the direction of the motor and also
to break the motor. When the motor comes to a sudden stop, as the terminals of the motor are
shorted. Or let the motor run free to a stop, when the motor is detached from the circuit. The table
below gives the different operations with the four switches corresponding to the above circuit.
S1 S2 S3 S4 Operation

1 0 0 1 Motor Moves Right

0 1 1 0 Motor Moves Left

0 0 0 0 Motor Free Runs

0 1 0 1 Motor Brakes

1 0 1 0 Motor Brakes

1 1 0 0 Short Power Supply

0 0 1 1 Short Power Supply

1 1 1 1 Short Power Supply