Can i use EN pins for PWM speed control in L298N Motor driver?

Question

hey everyone,

To properly control the speed of my DC motor in my current project, I need to know if the ENA and ENB pins on the L298N motor driver can accept PWM signals to vary the motor speed, or if these pins are only used for switching the channels ON and OFF.

Any guidance on using these pins for speed control would be greatly appreciated.

Admin · Answer

Yes, you can hook these pins to the PWM pin on Arduino. The Enable pin on the L298N acts as a gatekeeper for the power supplied to the motor. When the pin is set HIGH, the motor is enabled and can run. When set LOW, the motor is disabled and stops.

By connecting the Enable pin to a PWM-capable pin on the Arduino and sending a PWM signal, you can control the effective voltage supplied to the motor. This changes the speed of the motor: A higher duty cycle (e.g., 100%) means the Enable pin is HIGH most of the time, allowing full power to the motor and thus full speed.
A lower duty cycle (e.g., 50%) means the Enable pin is HIGH only half the time, reducing the average power supplied to the motor and thus reducing the speed.

Here's an example that demonstrates how to set up and control the motor speed connected to A channel:

// Define pins
const int ENA = 9;  // PWM pin for Motor A
const int IN1 = 8;  // Direction pin 1 for Motor A
const int IN2 = 7;  // Direction pin 2 for Motor A

void setup() {
  // Set pin modes
  pinMode(ENA, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(IN1, OUTPUT);
  pinMode(IN2, OUTPUT);
}

void loop() {
  // Set motor direction
  digitalWrite(IN1, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(IN2, LOW);

  // Set motor speed using PWM
  analogWrite(ENA, 127);  // 50% duty cycle, half speed

  delay(2000);  // Run for 2 seconds

  // Change motor speed
  analogWrite(ENA, 255);  // 100% duty cycle, full speed

  delay(2000);  // Run for 2 seconds