Whenever I leave my settlement and return, my spotlights are off. I have to then go to their connecting generators and turn them off and then on again to turn the spotlights back on. I'd like to be able to return to my settlement and survey my roaming spotlights without having to go to the generators every time. Am I doing something wrong? (The spotlights are always connected to generators with enough juice to power them). Any help would be appreciated...

They're bugged. You can select and then just re-place them and they'll come back on.

It's not a bug, but an oversight. All the settlement features are handled through scripts, and scripts stop working once you leave the cell they're in.

Appreciate that Greed. But then why does the smoke from my generators stay on when I return? Wouldn't that be a part of the script as well?

The generators just output power. The spotlights actively search for and track NPCs. That could be why (the latter is more intensive than the former).

Any idea if powered turrets have the same problem?

Hey Greed - That makes sense, although my powered turrets DO stay on when I return.