# DRV8872 motor driver: 6.5 to 45 V, 3.6 A peak, current regulation

> A PWM-controlled brushed DC H-bridge with built-in current regulation and fault output: voltage, current, on-resistance, sleep and package.

Canonical: https://roboticsengineering.in/components/drv8872-brushed-motor-driver/ | Published: 2026-11-03 | Updated: 2026-11-03

**The DRV8872 is a brushed DC motor driver with a 6.5 V to 45 V supply range, 3.6 A peak current, 565 mΩ typical on-resistance and a two-input PWM interface with integrated current regulation.** It is the higher-voltage relative of the [DRV8871](https://roboticsengineering.in/components/drv8871-motor-driver/). Figures are from the Texas Instruments DRV8872 datasheet SLVSCZ0C.

## Key specifications

| Supply | 6.5–45 V |
| --- | --- |
| Peak current | 3.6 A |
| RDS(on) | 565 mΩ typical (HS + LS) |
| Interface | IN1/IN2 PWM |
| Current regulation | ISEN pin |
| Package | HSOP-8 |

## What the datasheet promises

| Item | Datasheet value |
| --- | --- |
| Function | H-bridge for one brushed DC motor, one winding of a stepper, or other loads |
| Supply voltage | 6.5 V to 45 V |
| Peak current | 3.6 A |
| On-resistance | 565 mΩ typical, high side plus low side |
| Control | IN1 and IN2 inputs, PWM-capable from 0 to 100 kHz, with a choice of decay modes |
| Current regulation | Internal reference and an ISEN pin through an external sense resistor; ISEN trip voltage 0.35 V typical |
| Sleep | Both inputs low enters sleep; time to sleep 1 to 1.5 ms |
| Protection | VM undervoltage lockout, overcurrent protection, thermal shutdown, with automatic recovery |
| Fault output | nFAULT pulled low on a fault |
| Package | HSOP-8 with PowerPAD, 4.9 × 6 mm |

If you do not need current regulation, the datasheet says to connect ISEN directly to ground. With the regulation in use, the sense resistor sets the current limit, which helps with motor start-up and stall.

## Using it on a robot

- Drive a 24 V gearmotor with up to 3.6 A peaks, within the thermal limits of your board.
- Use the current-regulation feature to cap start-up and stall current instead of oversizing the supply.
- Connect nFAULT to a controller input so the robot can react to a fault.

## Sources and further reading

- [Texas Instruments DRV8872 datasheet (SLVSCZ0C)](https://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/drv8872.pdf) — supply, current, on-resistance, control, current regulation, sleep, protection and package 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.