Went through a Dwemer ruin as part of a quest and found a machine or two. I tried activating them but they said I didn’t have the right components. Didn’t pay it much mind but I thing it might be that.
As for the ruin, It’s located somewhere near White-helm or Winter-hold because I remember doing that quest for the mages guild where you have to place a devise into a machine then cast a spell on it.
But these machines were different, They were just in the middle of a hallway so I didn’t pay them much mind.
One of the replies I found intriging.