robb wrote:

Thanks Tom,
i really appreciate any comments and help

i unsoldered one of the L298 and it has no shorts so now the next
then i will do a trace of the 5V lines until i can learn
something usefull about the interconnections.

i hate working blind and re-tracing things when i could just look
on a schemat.

I suggest you remove the 5V voltage regulator.. That'll remove the connection
from the power supply to the digital section and NOW check for a short across
the 5V and ground.

The regulator chip may have an internal short you see and it is at least easy to
remove from the pcb.

Graham