> 1. The PIC is somehow consuming so much power that it cannot drive LEDs.

It happened to me once that a PIC drew a lot of current and got very hot
when it ran. And i later found out from fellow piclisters that the IC might
have gotten into a latch-up. Programming the PIC is fine, and it even runs
fine at high temp for a short while before it died. Could this be your case?

regards
Tan Chun Chiek

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