So I have an automotive window motor. It draws 3.3 Amps at 12 VDC. I have L298N dual H-bridges, like these. These are rated at 25 watts per channel. Clearly running the motor off of a single side of the H-Bridge would be too much for it to handle (39.6 watts). Now comes the dumb question... Can I just use the two channels in parallel to power my window motor thus giving me the equivalent of a 4 amp H-bridge?
Never mind found the answer on another forum... Yes, you just have to parallel channels 1 & 3 and 2 & 4 together.
You don't need to look on any forums. The answer is on page 7 of the L298 datasheet.
There is a special Hell for people who don't read datasheets before using ICs.
It is a place where nothing works and things burn up when you turn on the power.
We don't make up names for stuff. The names are chosen by the designers.
I understand what you mean but that doesn't make it ok.
We have to use the names that are given to us so everyone is on the same page.
Also, they're not called "channels". (it's not a radio) They're called "outputs.". The name given on the datasheet is
"OUTPUT-1,OUTPUT-2,OUTPUT-3, & OUTPUT-4"
Also , you need to parallel "In1 & In3, In2 & In4.
The L298 is not MOSFET based, so how well the two h-bridges in it parallel might be a question.
zoomkat:
The L298 is not MOSFET based, so how well the two h-bridges in it parallel might be a question.
Yes but because the devices are on the same chip they are closely thermally coupled and that removes most of the problem when trying to shair current with transistors.
The chip might be rated at 2A per channel but without good thermal management don't expect to
get more than 1A per channel. Yes you can call it a channel, "Multi channel controller" is a perfectly reasonable
English phrase whether or not the datasheet uses the word or not.