DRV8833 ISEN current limit

The DRV8833 starts chopping when the voltage across the ISEN sense resistor reaches 200 mV, soI_limit = 0.2 V / R. This is per H-bridge, in hardware, and reacts in microseconds — far faster than any firmware.

DRV8833 ISEN current limit

Sense resistor R (Ω)

…or target limit I (A)

Motor stall current (A)

Edit either R or I; the other follows. V_TRIP = 200 mV per DRV8833 datasheet. Tie ISEN to GND for no limiting.

When to use it

Hardware limiting is a good fault catcher, but if you set it below the motor's stall current to protect a weak battery you are trading torque for it. On the robot the right fix was a better battery, and ISEN stayed grounded — seeDRV8833 vs MX1508 and thebattery article.