Door & Environmental Sensor Installation

Updated March 16, 2026 18:57

Motive Door and Environmental Sensor (DES-2) enables accurate monitoring of door activity and environmental conditions, ensuring security and operational efficiency.

Overview

Door & Environmental Sensors give fleets real-time visibility into refrigerated assets by combining door, temperature, and humidity monitoring in a single device. Fleet Managers and Fleet Admins can see exactly when reefer doors open and close, monitor conditions inside every zone, all from the Motive Fleet Dashboard.

Monitor Reefer: Use continuous temperature and humidity monitoring to keep reefers within a defined range.
Track door activity: The Door and Environmental Sensors help detect both swing and roll-up doors in real time.
Configure Alerts: Create real-time email and SMS alerts when doors are left open too long, or reefer temperatures move outside the set thresholds.
Review Reports: Use Reefer Activity and Door Sensor Events reports to get a historical view of the door status, temperature & humidity data for a specific reefer.

What comes in the box?

Sensor
5 Small Phillips mounting plate screws
Mounting plate
Pin
Alcohol wipe
Magnet
5 Large mounting plate screws
3 T6 screws for the device
Spare adhesive

Supported Devices

Devices that Support Door & Environmental Sensors

Vehicle Gateway

Note: When Vehicle Gateway is selected as a source, trip history will not be available.

Installation: Door and Environmental Sensor

1. Press and release the pinhole button on the side of the sensor by inserting the pin.

2. The LED will blink blue, indicating the sensor is beginning the pairing process.

3. Proceed immediately to the positioning instructions for the door type.

Note: This blinking behavior is for the first 30 minutes after activation or button press.

Positioning on a Roll-up Door

Set aside the magnet provided; it is intended for Swing Doors, not Roll-up Doors.

Orient the sensor with the LED on the bottom, as shown. Place the sensor on the door in such a position that it will be vertical (perpendicular to the floor) when the door is closed and horizontal (parallel to the floor) when the door is opened. If possible, attach the sensor to the interior side of the door.
Proceed to the mounting instructions.

Positioning on a Swing Door

For installing on Swing doors, place the magnet on the top edge of the door.
Place the sensor on the ceiling, oriented so the LED is directly facing the magnet.
Ensure the sensor and magnet are within the following maximum distances:

Metal surfaces: 12mm (½ inch apart)
Other materials: 22mm (⅞ inch apart)

When the door closes, the sensor blinks green once. When the door opens, it blinks white once.

Note: This blinking behavior is for the 1st 30 minutes after activation or button press.

Note: If the sensor will not fit on the ceiling, you can swap the positions of the sensor and magnet as long as the sensor's LED continues to face the magnet and within maximum distance of the magnet. Proceed to the mounting instructions.

Note: The Door & Environmental Sensor can be installed on both a roll-up or swing door on a refrigerated truck.

Mounting

Use the included alcohol wipe to clean the area where you want to attach the mounting plate and magnet.
Remove the adhesive backing from the mounting plate and affix it to your desired location.
If using the magnet, remove its adhesive backing and affix it to your desired location.

For metal surfaces, use the small mounting plate screws; for wood surfaces, use the large mounting plate screws.
Attach the sensor (and magnet, if used) to the mount and secure it using the device screws.

At least 10 minutes after you first push the pinhole button, quickly press and release the button again.The LED will turn solid blue if your sensor has successfully paired with your Asset Gateway.

Note: If your Motive Gateway is installing firmware updates, you may need to wait 30-60 minutes before your sensor is successfully paired and data appears in your Fleet App or dashboard.

Assigning a Door and Environmental Sensor to an Asset using the Fleet App

After installing the Door and Environmental Sensor, download the Motive Fleet App from Google Play Store or Apple App Store and log in as an admin or installer.
Sign in to the Motive Fleet App and tap Devices.
Tap Install Door and Environmental Sensor.

Use the search bar to enter the serial number of your desired Door & Environmental Sensor.
Select the Door & Environmental Sensor of your choice.

Click Continue to proceed with installing the Door & Environmental Sensor.

Select the desired asset.

Select the data transmission source as Vehicle Gateway.

Note: The Door & Environmental Sensor does not support Asset Gateways as transmission sources.

Select the desired Vehicle Gateway.
Tap Continue.
Select the sensor usage between Door, Environmental, and Door and Environmental.

If Door is chosen, select the door type: Swing or Roll-up.

Select the temperature zone for the installation of your Door & Environmental Sensor.

Select the location for the installation of your Door & Environmental Sensor.

On the confirmation prompt, tap Assign.
Follow the installation guide to activate the Door & Environmental Sensor or install another sensor.

Follow the steps shown on screen to mount your Environmental Sensor inside your previously assigned reefer trailer asset and continue following the instructions on the screen.

Assign a Door and Environmental Sensor to an Asset in the Fleet Dashboard

Note: Before installing a Door & Environmental Sensor, the Vehicle Gateway needs to be attached to a Vehicle Asset.

Go to Assets, click the three dots next to the desired asset and select Edit Asset.

Go to Sensors > Data Transmission Source > + Select source and select Vehicle Gateway. The selected device will transmit data for all sensors assigned to the asset.

Assign a Vehicle Gateway.

Note: Before installing a Door & Environmental Sensor, the Vehicle Gateway needs to be attached to a Vehicle Asset.

Click + Assign sensor.

Select a Door & Environmental Sensor and click Assign.

Select an installation zone, location and click Assign.

Once a Data Transmission Source and Door & Environmental Sensor are assigned, click Save.

Replacing the battery of a Door & Environmental Sensor

Door & Environmental Sensors come with non-rechargeable CR2477X batteries that allow for better performance in low-temperature situations and have been tested to last at least 3 years under normal usage. Hence, whenever your Door & Environmental Sensor’s LED is solid red, you will need to replace the battery with another CR2477X battery.

Flip the device over and using a T6 screwdriver, remove the screws.
Gently remove the battery from the battery holder and replace it with a new battery.

Note: Please purchase a Murata CR2477X battery when replacing the battery to ensure optimal performance at low temperatures.

Ensure that the waterproofing rubber seal is placed well in the top housing groove.
Place the lid on the back and screw it tightly.

LED light indicators

The color of the LED light on the Door & Environmental Sensor has different meanings. Refer to the following table to understand the meaning of the LED colors and patterns:

LED Color	Meaning
Solid blue (5 seconds)	Working properly. It is paired and has a good signal.
Blinking blue (10 seconds)	Trying to pair with a Vehicle Gateway.
Blinking red (10 seconds)	Paired Vehicle Gateway can not be found. This can happen when the Asset Gateway mini is on battery power.
Solid yellow (5 seconds)	Connectivity to the Vehicle Gateway is weak. The sensor is still paired but has a poor signal.
One blinking blue	After a pinhole press, this means it’s sending a breadcrumb.
On blinking green	Sensor detected a transition from Door Open to Door Closed.
One blinking white	Sensor detected a transition from Door Closed to Door Open.
One blinking red	A 5-second press of the pinhole button will return the device to its out-of-the-box state.

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