This paper proposes a technique to control a switched reluctance motor (SRM) using sense coils for rotor position sensing. The method uses sense coils wound on the stator poles along with an exciter coil. The high frequency signal injected from exciter coil is extracted from the search coils and are rectified and filtered to obtain the inductance. A SoC FPGA is used to read the sense coils signals and decide the phase commutation strategy. This technique can be used even at standstill to start the motor. This makes it more reliable than sensorless methods and makes it well suited for automotive applications. © 2017 IEEE.