Multiphase permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drives. First defined are adequate variables called virtual current vectors. The projection of the zero‐sequence current component on these variables was used to define two simple fault indices. High sensitivity to fault is thus induced but with a good robustness to transient states and variation of machine parameters. The mathematical development of the proposed method is provided and supported by experimental tests conducted on two prototypes of multiphase machines in the laboratory: sinusoidal and bi‐harmonic PMSMs. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed method and its capability to detect the single and multiple open‐switches and open‐phase faults in the electric drive.