Arduino Micro with SN754410NE DIP-16 H Bridge

Using Arduino Motors, Mechanics, Power and CNC
7

Thanks very much!, I've been trying testing your solutions and implementing what I can.
For point e), I tried to implement some changes in my code but i'm not sure if I understood fully. Could you please check my code below? (it still sometimes causes a malfunction with my version).
Can you also please tell me if there is a way to implement a safety to stop the motor if the Arduino malfunctions or if the motor gets stuck running? (I was planning to leave it on all day).
I tried using the watchdog timer but it seems to malfunction with the 'Arduino Micro' and then won't let you upload anything to it again without a fix. (I put wdt_enable(WDTO_8S) in the setup and wdt_reset in the loop (every few ms).

Thanks again for your help!
Paul

int motor_1_pins[] = {5, 6};
int speedpin = 4; 

void setup()
{
  Serial.begin(9600); 
  pinMode(speedpin, OUTPUT);
  analogWrite(speedpin, 0);  
  pinMode(motor_1_pins[0], OUTPUT);
  pinMode(motor_1_pins[1], OUTPUT);
}

//-------------------------------------------
//Motor Control
int motor_control(int directionz,int motorpin1, int motorpin2,int controlpin)
{
  //Stop
  analogWrite(controlpin, 0);
  digitalWrite(motorpin1, HIGH);
  digitalWrite(motorpin2, HIGH);
  
  if(directionz==1) //Reverse
  {
    digitalWrite(motorpin1, HIGH);
    digitalWrite(motorpin2, LOW);
    analogWrite(controlpin, 255);
    Serial.println("Motor forwards");
  }
  if(directionz==3) //Forward
  {
    digitalWrite(motorpin1, LOW); 
    digitalWrite(motorpin2, HIGH);
    analogWrite(controlpin, 255);    
    Serial.println("Motor backwards");
  }

}
//-------------------------------------------
//Main Program
void loop()
{
  motor_control(1,motor_1_pins[0],motor_1_pins[1],speedpin);
  delay(2000);
  motor_control(0,motor_1_pins[0],motor_1_pins[1],speedpin);
  delay(2000);
  motor_control(3,motor_1_pins[0],motor_1_pins[1],speedpin);
  delay(2000);
  motor_control(0,motor_1_pins[0],motor_1_pins[1],speedpin);
  delay(2000);
}