This paper proposes a parametric model for inter-turn fault detection in a fault-tolerant permanent-magnet (FTPM) machine, which can predict the effect of the short-circuit fault to various physical quantity of the machine. For different faulty operations, a new effective stator inter-turn fault detection method is proposed. Finally, simulations of vector-controlled FTPM machine drives are given to verify the feasibility of the proposed method, showing that even single-coil short-circuit fault could be exactly detected.