A controller for controlling a multiphase brushless direct current (BLDC) motor is described. The controller may be configured to determine that the multiphase BLDC motor is operating in a phase delay state in response to determining that an indication of a shunt current for the multiphase BLDC motor satisfies a shunt current threshold and determine that the multiphase BLDC motor is operating in a phase advance state in response to determining that a set of phase-to-ground voltages for the multiphase BLDC motor does not indicate a zero-crossing point. The controller may further be configured to selectively energize each phase of the multiphase BLDC motor based on whether the multiphase BLDC motor is operating in the phase delay state or phase advance state.