This page covers remote generator control from the status page — putting a gen in Manual, clearing alarms, starting it, and closing its breaker (On Load), plus the group-level versions. These commands write directly to the generator's DSE controller over the network, so they move real iron. Read the safety section before you use them.
Start and On Load crank an engine and close a breaker. Never send them unless you know the gen is clear, no one is working on or near it, and you've got eyes on it (in person or on camera). The system asks you to confirm this for a reason.
| Button | What it does | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| Set Manual Mode | Switches the DSE controller to Manual so it will accept a start command. Safe — cannot start the engine by itself. | Always allowed |
| Clear Alarms | Resets the gen's resettable fault codes. Safe — does not start anything. | Always allowed |
| Start Gen | Cranks and starts the engine. | Manual mode, no active shutdown alarm, gen not already running |
| On Load | Closes the gen breaker so it picks up load. | Gen running |
| Step | Do |
|---|---|
| 1 | Set Manual Mode |
| 2 | Clear Alarms (if any are showing) |
| 3 | Start Gen — confirm the eyes-on prompt |
| 4 | Let it warm up & stabilize, then On Load to pick up miners |
Remote gen control is a separate permission (gen_control). If
you don't have it, the Gen Control option and the group buttons simply don't
appear for you — there's nothing to click. Ask a lead to grant it in Site
Manager if you need it.
The permission is enforced on the server, not just hidden in the page, so it
can't be worked around. Every action you send is written to
gen_control.log and pushed to that site's alert channel with your
name on it.
Where: on the status page, click a generator → in the action picker choose Gen Control. The modal opens showing that gen's live state — its mode (Auto/Manual), whether it's running (with RPM), and its alarm state — then the four buttons below.
Puts the DSE controller in Manual. This is the mode a gen must be in before it will accept a remote Start. Setting Manual by itself does nothing to the engine — it's just flipping the key position. Always allowed.
Sends the controller's "reset resettable alarms" command, clearing fault codes that have been resolved. Always allowed and can't start the engine. If a gen has a shutdown-class alarm, you'll need to clear it before Start will unlock (assuming the underlying fault is actually fixed).
Clear Alarms only tells the controller to drop the fault flag. If the real issue is still there (low coolant, low oil, high temp), the gen will just fault again — possibly after it's already running. Clear alarms because you've addressed the cause, not to force past a warning.
Cranks the engine. Only unlocks when the gen is in Manual, has no active
shutdown alarm, and isn't already running. When you click it you get an
eyes-on confirmation dialog — you have to type yes to proceed. It
asks the questions that matter: is the gen clear, are you watching it, is
anyone near it.
Closes the gen's breaker so it starts carrying electrical load (the miners). Only available once the gen is running. Closing a breaker onto load causes an inrush — at group level the system fires On Load across gens together to balance it (see Group Control).
The buttons enable/disable themselves based on the gen's live state, and the server double-checks every command. If a button is greyed out, the gen isn't in a state where that action is safe:
| Button greyed out | Because | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Start Gen | Gen isn't in Manual | Set Manual Mode first |
| Start Gen | Active shutdown alarm | Resolve the fault, then Clear Alarms |
| Start Gen | Gen already running | Nothing to do — it's up |
| On Load | Gen not running | Start it first, let it stabilize |
Even if the page let you click something, the API re-checks these interlocks and refuses anything unsafe — it will not write a Start to a gen with a shutdown alarm, for example. The greyed-out buttons just mirror those same rules so you see them up front.
Once the gen is up and on load, the power system's Auto-Wake handles bringing miners back gradually. Don't force-wake unless you've verified the gen is solid and need it back faster.
When a whole gen group is down or all up, a single contextual group button appears on the group header (gen-control users only). It figures out the right action from the group's live state and applies it to every eligible gen at once. Only active and active-swap gens are touched; operator-disabled gens are skipped.
| Button | Appears when | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Reset Group | All gens down, not yet in Manual/cleared | Sets every gen to Manual and clears alarms — prepping them to start |
| Restart Group | All gens down and already Manual/cleared | Starts the gens, staggered ~5 s apart so they don't all crank at once |
| On Load Group | All gens running but not loaded | Closes all breakers together to balance the inrush across gens |
Group actions require every eligible gen in the group to be reachable. If even one gen's controller is unreachable, the whole group button hides and the action won't fire — there are no partial group operations. That's deliberate: a half-started group is worse than none. If the button's missing, one gen is likely offline to control; handle it individually or fix the comms.
Restart Group also gives you the same type-yes
eyes-on confirmation as a single start, since it's cranking multiple engines.
Every remote action records your name, the gen, and the action to
gen_control.log and posts to the site's alert channel. This isn't
about blame — it's so the team can see what happened to a gen and when, which
matters when you're diagnosing a trip later.
Set Manual Mode and Clear Alarms can't start an engine and are always allowed. If you're just prepping a gen or resetting a nuisance fault, those two are risk-free. It's Start and On Load that move iron — treat them with respect.