The moment a fleet decides whether the system is worth keeping
Every tyre pressure system eventually has a dead sensor. A battery reaches the end of its life, a sensor is damaged by a wheel change, or a tyre is replaced and the sensor does not survive the job.
What happens next decides whether the fleet keeps trusting the system. If replacing one sensor means sending a receiver back to the factory, or waiting two weeks for a visit, the fleet stops using the data and goes back to a gauge. If the workshop can replace and pair a sensor in twenty minutes, using a tool that already hangs on the wall, the system survives.
This is the field procedure we use, and the reason our receivers are designed so a sensor can be paired on site without returning anything.
If you have not seen the pairing step in action, this is the bench test that shows a sensor reporting after fitting: TPMS sensor test on the bench.
Before you start: two records that save the job
The pairing sheet. Which sensor ID sits on which axle and side. If your fleet does not have one, build it on the first vehicle you touch. Without it, the old sensor's ID is lost and the replacement becomes guesswork.
The baseline pressure. The pressure recorded when the system was commissioned, per axle. It tells you whether a reading is plausible after the swap.
A photograph of the pairing sheet stored with the vehicle file is worth more than a tidy spreadsheet that nobody opens in the workshop.
Tools you need
- One handheld pairing tool, compatible with the receiver family in use
- The new sensor, correct form for that position (valve-mounted or band-mounted)
- A pressure gauge
- The pairing sheet, and a pen
- For band-mounted sensors: a new band, and the band tool
No laptop is required for pairing on our system, and no software licence. That is a deliberate design choice: a workshop will not keep a laptop charged and a driver installed for a job that happens a few times a year.
Step 1: Identify the position properly
Do not identify the position by "the one that isn't reading". On a multi-axle vehicle, two positions can fail within the same week, and a reading that looks plausible can belong to the wrong wheel.
Use the wheel layout: axle number, left or right, and whether it is a dual pair. If the vehicle has a display, the display layout usually mirrors the wheel layout; use it as a cross-check, not as the primary source.
Step 2: Remove the old sensor
For a valve-mounted sensor, unscrew it and inspect the valve. A damaged valve must be replaced before a new sensor goes on, or the new sensor will be blamed for a leak that started at the valve.
For a band-mounted sensor inside the tyre, the tyre has to come off the rim. This is the moment to check the band and the mounting surface. A band that has chafed is a warning about the rim, not just about the band.
Record the old sensor ID before it is discarded. Even a dead sensor's ID belongs on the sheet, because it explains the gap in the history.
Step 3: Fit the new sensor
Fit it in the same position, with the same form. If you are changing the form deliberately, record why. Mixed forms on one axle are a support problem later.
For a band-mounted sensor, confirm it cannot shift under load and does not touch the rim wall. For a valve-mounted sensor, check for leaks at the valve after fitting. Then inflate to the axle pressure from the baseline record.
Step 4: Pair it
Pairing happens at the receiver, using the handheld tool, with the vehicle stationary.
The order matters less than the recording. Pair the new sensor, confirm on the tool that it reports, and then write the new ID on the sheet against the correct position. On a multi-axle vehicle, do one position at a time and confirm before moving on.
If the tool reports more than one candidate sensor (for example because a neighbouring sensor is also awake), select by the ID you wrote down, not by the strongest signal.
Step 5: Prove the position is right
The final step is the one most often skipped. Deflate the position you just paired by a known amount, and confirm that the pressure drop appears at that position on the display or in the data output. If it appears somewhere else, the pairing is wrong and every downstream report is wrong.
Then restore the pressure and confirm the reading returns to the baseline.
If the receiver feeds a CAN bus or a serial link, check the same thing in the data: the position byte should move, and the status should return to normal.
How often should this happen
Battery life depends on the transmit interval and the temperature the sensor works in, so it is a specification item rather than a fixed number of years. Ask for the expected life at your duty cycle when you buy, and plan replacements as a scheduled item rather than an emergency.
The related article on battery life explains what actually shortens it: TPMS sensor battery life.
Five mistakes that turn a twenty-minute job into a callback
1. Reusing the old band. It looks fine and fails in a month.
2. Skipping the valve check on a valve-mounted position.
3. Pairing without recording the new ID. The next technician inherits a mystery.
4. Verifying on the tool only. The tool is not where the operator looks.
5. Fitting the wrong form. A band sensor on a position designed for a valve sensor may not fit the rim at all, and forcing it damages both.
What to ask a supplier before you buy a system
- Can a sensor be paired in the field without returning the receiver?
- Is the pairing tool included, and what does a replacement tool cost?
- What is the expected battery life at a 10-second transmit interval, and at a longer one?
- Does the receiver report a missing sensor as a distinct status, or as a zero pressure?
- Is the sensor form interchangeable on the same receiver?
Those five answers tell you more about the real cost of ownership than the price per sensor. Send your vehicle type and the number of positions through /contact and we will map the pairing sheet for your fleet. For fleets that build their own display or platform, the integration material starts at /can-bus-tpms.