In order to recharge the machine, and proper combination is 4, 5, 4, A, C, 5. The quest guide says 4, 5, 4, B, C, 5,

The proper combination is B if you follow the guide.

 

4 - moves the short pillar behind the centre out to the right (into 5)

5 - moves the short pillar back in causing the mechanism to active and drop the centre.

4 - once again moves the short pillar out.

 

At this point you have:

4A - the unmoveable machine segment

4B - the tall piece

4C - the empty square.

 

B - Moves the tall slider down into position and activates the charge.

C- moves it back up

5 - puts the small piece back in place to raise the centre.

 

Replacing B with A will still work but its not "correct".

The lever is where the empty space moves too, or as close to as it can in a straight line.

Since it is in 4C and the pillar we want to move in 4B pulling B gives the outcome.

Pulling lever A still works because the space tries to move to A, but as 4A cannot move gets stuck at B anyway.

Thank you for the detailed explanation Sy_Accursed.

 

Since the reasoning of why our guide has B instead of A has been explained I will be locking this now.

 

If you find any other things on our site, 3PointMan feel free to let us know :)