Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Well, a plausible possibility, anyway. The first part of the story is in this thread.
Coming out late after work on Thursday, March 7th, the truck wouldn't start again. After getting the one other person who was around late, my boss, to drive 30 miles out of his way to take me home, I was able to negotiate the logistic hassles of getting a tow truck on Cape Canaveral AFS the next day (the day before our planned launch--nothing much happening
), I finally got it towed back to the dealer again. I got it back yesterday--twelve days, including two weekends, later 
Star ran them through hours of diagnostics before approving ordering a new injection pump; the pump made no difference. Star gave them a bunch more diagnostics, but eventually the tech thought of the pressure relief valve on the HPCR (which shunts fuel back to the fuel tank). He said the engine needs at least 5,000 psi to start, and the relief valve was cracking at 1200 psi. He swapped one in from another truck on the lot--mine worked, and the other one (now equipped with my relief valve) displayed starting problems.
OK, that all sounds like a believable scenario of what was preventing starting; so how to deal with future occurrences? The relief valve is prominently accessible on top of the engine. I didn't get a look at it removed, so I don't know if it would be responsive to, shall we say, impact adjustment. I asked about carrying a spare (understanding the need to release pressure before removing it), but the tech said the part (which isn't available right now, anyway) was over $400 :--) His solution, he had been using to move the truck at the dealership was (yes, we all know what the manual says about it, because of the grid heaters)... ether. He said once it started with the ether, it ran fine.
I have no way of knowing whether this was a random failure, or whether running an EZ on Level 6 (which increases HPCR fuel pressure) could have an effect on it.
Coming out late after work on Thursday, March 7th, the truck wouldn't start again. After getting the one other person who was around late, my boss, to drive 30 miles out of his way to take me home, I was able to negotiate the logistic hassles of getting a tow truck on Cape Canaveral AFS the next day (the day before our planned launch--nothing much happening
), I finally got it towed back to the dealer again. I got it back yesterday--twelve days, including two weekends, later Star ran them through hours of diagnostics before approving ordering a new injection pump; the pump made no difference. Star gave them a bunch more diagnostics, but eventually the tech thought of the pressure relief valve on the HPCR (which shunts fuel back to the fuel tank). He said the engine needs at least 5,000 psi to start, and the relief valve was cracking at 1200 psi. He swapped one in from another truck on the lot--mine worked, and the other one (now equipped with my relief valve) displayed starting problems.
OK, that all sounds like a believable scenario of what was preventing starting; so how to deal with future occurrences? The relief valve is prominently accessible on top of the engine. I didn't get a look at it removed, so I don't know if it would be responsive to, shall we say, impact adjustment. I asked about carrying a spare (understanding the need to release pressure before removing it), but the tech said the part (which isn't available right now, anyway) was over $400 :--) His solution, he had been using to move the truck at the dealership was (yes, we all know what the manual says about it, because of the grid heaters)... ether. He said once it started with the ether, it ran fine.
I have no way of knowing whether this was a random failure, or whether running an EZ on Level 6 (which increases HPCR fuel pressure) could have an effect on it.
