Spoilers: Early game
Abiotic Factor Batteries: Night Power & Wiring Fixes
Troubleshoot overnight power in Abiotic Factor: makeshift battery duration, device load, default night length, and a simple single-device setup.
A simple single-device arrangement
For one essential device on default timing, use this setup:
Wall outlet → full makeshift battery → full makeshift battery → device
This arrangement lasts 375 seconds, not 500. Batteries in series are not a simple addition of their individual runtimes.
Diagnose the symptom
| What happens | First check |
|---|---|
| It never works | Trace the connection from the device back to the source. |
| It stops just before morning | Compare battery coverage with night length. |
| It stopped lasting after an expansion | Count the downstream devices again. |
| It works on one server but not another | Compare world timing and power settings. |
Do not apply the single-device example to a whole base. Remove nonessential branches while diagnosing, then add them back one at a time.
Check charge before testing
An arrangement described with full batteries cannot be assessed using partly charged ones. Check the charge indicator during the day, and observe the device through the outage rather than only checking the room at sunrise.
Which indicator should you read?
Read the battery’s two vertical indicators: the rear white indicator shows stored charge, while the front light-blue indicator shows downstream device count. A long load indicator is not evidence of a full battery. Read both before deciding that a battery needs replacing.
An empty Makeshift Battery takes 250 seconds of powered charging to fill. Connecting one just before the facility loses power does not recreate a full-charge example. Leave the circuit connected to a live outlet during charging; it can pass power through while accumulating charge.
Build and test an overnight Crafting Bench circuit
- Start with one Crafting Bench and disconnect optional downstream appliances for this test.
- Connect the wall outlet to the first Makeshift Battery, its output to the second, and the second battery to the bench. Follow the cable direction; two batteries placed nearby are not necessarily connected in series.
- During powered daytime, inspect both charge indicators. Give depleted batteries time to charge.
- Watch the bench during the power outage. Record when it loses power, if it does, rather than assuming a working bench at dawn means uninterrupted coverage.
- Add back one branch at a time. Recheck the load indicators and observe another outage after changing the network.
This controlled test isolates storage and load from the rest of the base. If ordinary enemies appear while power is absent, restore the bench supply first. If an assault occurs while the bench is powered, read why the safe area can still be attacked: those are different problems.
Why do two batteries not give twice the runtime?
The first battery in a series also supplies the battery after it. In the two-battery, one-bench example, the first has two downstream devices and contributes 125 seconds; the second then supplies the bench for 250 seconds. The total is 375 seconds.
| Fully charged default-case arrangement | Runtime | Covers a 270-second night? |
|---|---|---|
| One Makeshift Battery, one device | 250 seconds | No: 20-second gap |
| Two Makeshift Batteries in series, one device | 375 seconds | Yes, for this isolated load |
| Two Makeshift Batteries in series, two devices after the chain | About 208 seconds | No |
A Plug Strip does not itself count as a consuming device in this calculation, but appliances attached to it do. Splitting the cable does not make those appliances free to power.
What materials make a Makeshift Battery?
At a Crafting Bench, the recipe uses one Energy Brick, one Coil and two Metal Scrap to make one battery. A pair therefore needs two Energy Bricks, two Coils and four Metal Scrap.
If the recipe is unavailable, check research and the station before troubleshooting cables. For your first supply trip, use the Office Sector preparation guide and return with the named items rather than collecting unrelated electrical-looking scrap.
Limits of these numbers
These timings apply to the default settings and fully charged arrangements above. Changes to timing, connected equipment, or game mechanics can change the result.
Return to the Crafting Bench checks if power is working but the workstation still does not behave as expected.
