Abstract: A method for referencing a polyphase stepper motor by monitoring the current step response in at least one driven phase is presented. The coil current step response is compared to past step responses in order to determine when an increase in or maximum load is present. A combination of step to step variance, step response variance from mean current magnitude, and average current magnitude variance, as well as other measures can be combined to create an algorithm output. The output is compared to a pre-determined threshold and if the value is greater than the threshold, the motor is commanded to halt its position, which remains magnetically synchronous. This position is then used as a reference point to zero, or to home the motor.