# DRV8801 motor driver: 8 to 36 V, 2.8 A peak, PHASE/ENABLE

> A full H-bridge for one brushed DC motor with a PHASE and ENABLE interface, sleep mode and protection: voltage, current and pins.

Canonical: https://roboticsengineering.in/components/drv8801-brushed-motor-driver/ | Published: 2026-11-03 | Updated: 2026-11-03

**The DRV8801 is a full H-bridge motor driver for one brushed DC motor, running from 8 V to 36 V with peak output currents up to ±2.8 A and a simple PHASE and ENABLE interface.** It suits larger robots than the small low-voltage drivers. The DRV8800 is the sibling in the same datasheet. Figures are from the Texas Instruments DRV880x datasheet SLVS855K.

## Key specifications

| Supply | 8–36 V |
| --- | --- |
| Peak current | ±2.8 A |
| RDS(on) | 0.4 Ω typical |
| Interface | PHASE/ENABLE |
| Sleep | nSLEEP pin |
| Packages | HTSSOP-16, WQFN-16 |

## What the datasheet promises

| Item | Datasheet value |
| --- | --- |
| Function | Full H-bridge for a brushed DC motor, one winding of a stepper, or a solenoid |
| Supply voltage | 8 V to 36 V |
| Peak output current | Up to ±2.8 A |
| On-resistance | 0.4 Ω typical |
| Control | PHASE sets direction, ENABLE turns the bridge on; 100 percent PWM duty cycle is supported |
| Decay modes | MODE1 chooses fast or slow decay; MODE2 chooses high-side or low-side slow decay |
| Current sensing | SENSE pin with an external resistor; the pin table also lists a VPROPI analog current output |
| Sleep | Low-power sleep mode through nSLEEP |
| Protection | Undervoltage lockout, charge pump undervoltage, overcurrent, short-to-supply, short-to-ground, overtemperature warning and shutdown, with an nFAULT output |
| Packages | HTSSOP-16 (5 × 4.4 mm) and WQFN-16 (4 × 4 mm) |

The nFAULT output is open-drain, so it needs a pull-up resistor. Peak current is not continuous current: how much the chip can carry for long depends on the board layout and copper, as the datasheet application section describes.

## Using it on a robot

- Drive a 12 V or 24 V brushed gearmotor in a larger robot, within the current limits in the datasheet.
- Use the nFAULT line to stop the robot if the driver detects a short or overheating.
- Use the braking function the datasheet describes to stop the motor, instead of just removing ENABLE.
- For a smaller, lower-voltage driver see the [DRV8837](https://roboticsengineering.in/components/drv8837-small-motor-driver/).

## Sources and further reading

- [Texas Instruments DRV8800, DRV8801 datasheet (SLVS855K)](https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/drv8801.pdf) — supply, current, on-resistance, interface, decay, sleep, protection and packages above.

Last reviewed: November 2026. Limits are from the Texas Instruments datasheet; breakout boards and modules vary. No price is quoted because it has not been checked.