@Margaret_Munce you almost have this puzzle solved.
Just like the Jefferson mission, you need to use an item from your inventory that matches the color (I'm American) of the tube you are trying to fill. Both Jefferson and Rose give hints at the items if I remember correctly.
One problem I ran into is that the item you interact with is actually ON TOP of the old piece of equipment. If you are not interacting with the correct equipment for the quest it will not complete even if you are trying to fuel it with the correct item.