A Digital Programmable Motor Overload Protector includes a base module and a detachable, removable user interface module interfaced through a serial communications link. The base module provides motor overload analysis through a programmable Digital Signal Processor (DSP) which digitizes real time motor operating conditions, comparing stored user trip and alarm levels against these conditions, communicating the results to the detachable user interface and a multi-drop communications link using the industry standard MODBUS RTU protocol to a facility's automation system. Motor operating conditions, user settings, override conditions, pass events, and resettable parameters are available through the password protected removable user interface module or the multi-drop communications interface.