If you dead short an I/O pin to ground, and drive it to 5V, the PIC may survive for a few hundred milliseconds. Happily, though, the I/O pin usually fails open without killing anything else int he PIC. This is also called a Bus Fight. Hook two PICs together, I/O pin to I/O pin, and drive one high and the other low. Both PICs will die before you can disconnect the power. (of course, I didn't try this *intentionally*, it was by mistake.) If you drive an I/O pin to it's maximum *rated* current, say 25 milliamps if I remember correctly, it should work all day. There is also a specification on maximum output current for an entire port, which is also a limitation. -- Lawrence Lile Omega Software Sent by: pic microcontroller discussion list 02/19/2004 05:19 AM Please respond to pic microcontroller discussion list To: PICLIST@MITVMA.MIT.EDU cc: Subject: [PIC]: can I safely short an I/O pin? Hello, can I safely source and sink all the current that the PIC I/O pin is capable of, even for hours, without fearing a possibility of damage to the chip? Thanks, Andrea -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body