Sudden probe core death

[StuntMax]

Hi all,

I have this problem. Often my probe cores die unexpectedly of powerlackness.

Usually they are auxiliary cores (e.g. for driving a "spaceship core" in parking orbit to be completed with modular parts and/or refuelled via tankers before receiving the Heroic Kerbal Crew and leave for the Glory Path, or the cores of the tanker sent to refuel), or cores in a docked craft (last one was the core of a lander I wanted to leave in parking orbit to be used for several landings); there are always a whole bunch of fully charged batteries and solar arrays big enough to power a small city, but suddently "Probodobodyne OCTO damaged due of lack of power", and the core's interbal battery is at 0 charge...

Can anybody explain this?

[PlonioFludrasco]

Strange... do you have any mod installed?

[StuntMax]

Oh yes, i forgot.... KER, BTSM and DRE.

[Sirrobert]

Did you remember to open the solar pannels?

[Joe32320]

Panels might be shut, or if you're really unlucky, your panels might all be at 90 degrees to the sun, thus aren't actually getting any sunlight to provide power (or so little that it can't power the probe). Thats happened to me a few times and its really annoying...

[Dave Kerbin]

If you have BTSM installed then there are two things:

First you almost certainly don't have enough solar panels to power a small city (unless you have access to the 16,000 science tier 9 ones). Solar panels and batteries in BTSM are vastly scaled back. If you have more then one probe core you are draining a lot of power by BTSM standards (you can right click to turn off probe cores as long as you have one other command part to turn them back on again)

Second have you updated to the latest version? The mod has been updated in the last month or so to work around some limitations with how stock handles power generation/consumption when you are timewarping. Right click on your solar panels and see if they have internal batteries.

[StuntMax]

Yes, and all the batteries (but the core internal one) had a pretty fat residual charge (the command module was still functional)

Last one went like this: launched CM+lander, sent orbiting the mun. Crew landed on mun, then RVed with the CM and went back home; lander was left in orbit, with solar panels deployed and oriented (I made calculations to ensure that the time spent in the lit side was enough to fully recharge the batteries)

Launched another CM with another crew; RVed with the parked lander, found it fully functional, refuelled it, landed on the mun; during the ascent phase, probe core died for no apparent reason.

Another one: Spaceship sent in LKO with tanks empty. Batteries charged, solar panels deployed (a fckload of solar panels, enough to power a manned pod in Dunar orbit: more than enough to fully power 8-10 probe cores in KO)

Sent several tankers on refueling missions. During a fuel transfer, spaceship core died; tanker core was still alive and happily kept on pumping fuel in the still warm cadaver before undocking and merrily litobraking into Kerbin, as planned.

[StuntMax]

If you have BTSM installed then there are two things:

First you almost certainly don't have enough solar panels to power a small city (unless you have access to the 16,000 science tier 9 ones). Solar panels and batteries in BTSM are vastly scaled back. If you have more then one probe core you are draining a lot of power by BTSM standards (you can right click to turn off probe cores as long as you have one other command part to turn them back on again)

Ok, maybe the small city was a bit optimistic... but I have 2 octo cores, and something like 36 panels and an horrible bunch of batteries, like 15000 E.... I think that's more than enough even for BTSM standards

Second have you updated to the latest version? The mod has been updated in the last month or so to work around some limitations with how stock handles power generation/consumption when you are timewarping. Right click on your solar panels and see if they have internal batteries.

Didn't know this one. Will update ASAP.