Editing Guide to power (section)

= ENGINEERING WHY ARE WE LOSING POWER =

Sooner or later, on every barely functional space station, the power will go out. This is where you - YES, YOU, YOU LAZY FUCK - come in and call out to recall that shuttle because you can fix it! Power can go out for many reasons. Your first port of call should be the Power Monitoring console in engineering, assuming it still exists. Then, ask yourself what's going on:

*'''Power goes out everywhere, in under 10 seconds or so?''' This is most likely a power sink. Power sinks have the odd quirk of still powering the area they are placed in, so your best bet is to get searching for somewhere where the lights are still on, or if it's in maint, where you don't have to crowbar the doors.
*'''Power goes out everywhere, but gradually, section by section?''' This means there's a problem in Engineering itself as the rest of the station is being topped up with charge. It'll be immediately obvious if the engine isn't on/has escaped. Your next port of call should be the SMES cells. Check they're outputting enough power to overcome the drain OR if no APCs are showing on the Power Monitoring computer, it means a wire has been cut either inside or immediately outside the Engineering area and is not being supplied to the rest of the station.
*'''Power is out across a small area?''' This is most commonly a broken wire, the easiest way to find it is with familiarity with the power-net and using that in conjunction with the power monitoring computer. If an area has had all wires sending power to it snipped, its APCs will no longer show on the power monitoring computer. For example, if Medbay as a whole has lost power and isn't showing any of its APCs on the power monitor, the wire cut is most likely in the maint tunnel behind Medbay. The more familiar you become with the power nets, the quicker you will be able to work out where the break is and be able to recognize common spots used.
*'''Power is out across 2 small rooms or in one room?''' This is most likely an APC that has been tampered with in some way. Either hacked by an AI/Saboteur, destroyed somehow or just had its cell ripped out. Again, if the APC doesn't show up on the Power Monitoring computer, it means it's been severed from the power net and wire either inside that room or very close to the APC has been cut.
*'''Power is intermittent across the station. Stuff turns off for a while, starts working, then goes off again?''' Your SMES aren't outputting enough power to keep the APCs charged. This happens most often when the output is just under the drain so therefore some APCs get enough power, while others don't.
*'''The smes'es cycle between getting power and not getting power for seemingly no reason''' Bug. admin help it. Can be fixed by admins by restarting the master controller.
*'''Power isn't actually out?''' Either someone is crying wolf or something else has happened to make it ''look'' like power went out, most likely an   [[Random_event#Electrical_Storm|electrical storm]].

Now that you know what's wrong with power, it's your job to [[Beyond the impossible|fix it]]! If the singularity is about to be fucked, ''TURN OFF THE PA IMMEDIATELY'' (it may be worth asking the AI) and wire solars, if they aren't already wired. It might also be necessary to replace equipment. There is a PACMAN located in the SMES room and a spare SMES unit located in [[Electrical Maintenance]], both of which no one ever remembers. You could also rebuild everything. The tools to build a new SMES are located in [[Tech Storage]], and cargo can order new solar equipment and even a new goddamn PA! ...Assuming they haven't already done so and pointed it your way, that is.

[[Category:Guides]]