RPi drives motors on L298n for a few seconds and then stops

Question

I am trying to make a Robotic Car using 4 motors and L298n for a motor driver. The motor specifications as listed on the purchase site are given below:

• Operating Voltage: 3V~6V DC
• Gear Ratio 1:48
• No-load speed(5V): about 208RPM
• Rated Torque: 0.8 Kg.cm @ 5V
• Load current: 170mA (when it is 4.5V)
• Size: 70 x 23 x 18 mm
• Weight:28g
• Shaft Length: 10 mm
• Shaft Type: 6 mm, Double-D

I have made the connections as show in the image below :

(I have removed all jumpers)

and following is the code I am using the run the motors

import RPi.GPIO as gpio
import time
gpio.setmode(gpio.BOARD)
gpio.setup(7,gpio.OUT)
gpio.setup(11,gpio.OUT)
gpio.setup(13,gpio.OUT)
gpio.setup(15,gpio.OUT)

gpio.output(7,True)
gpio.output(11,True)

while True:
    gpio.output(13,True)
    gpio.output(15,False)
    time.sleep(2)
    gpio.output(13,False)
    gpio.output(15,True)
    time.sleep(2)
    gpio.output(13,False)
    gpio.output(15,False)
    time.sleep(2)

Problem : When I run the script, The motors spins first cycle of the loop and the stops spinning.

What I tried : The motors only start spinning again for another cycle if I disconnect and reconnect the ground cable that connects Rpi ground to L298n ground. This problem doesn't occur when I am providing 12V 1A power supply(reads as 20V DC on my multimeter, I don't know why though) instead of the 4 x AA 1.5V batteries which I want to use.

Question : Is this a problem of power supply or am I doing something else wrong? I have tried multiple tutorials on the youtube but couldn't figure out the problem.

I am stuck with this for a week now. I can provide with more information, if you can specify what you want in the comments....

Answer 1

From your description the batteries can not supply enough power for a sustained period. They are drained after four seconds of use until you give them a period of rest when they recover enough for a few more seconds.

You need more powerful batteries or smaller motors.