A method for detecting fault conditions in a motor drive at power up is disclosed. During the power up sequence, input power is applied to the motor drive and the DC bus begins to charge to its normal operating level. Once the DC bus has reached a suitable level and prior to commanding motion of the attached motor, the shunt resistor is connected across the DC bus for a short duration. The amplitude of voltage and current present on the DC bus are measured while the shunt resistor is connected across the DC bus. The measurements are then used to detect fault conditions in the motor drive. The presence of the fault conditions are relayed to an operator. Thus, the motor drive may detect certain fault conditions prior to commanding motion from the drive.