My van on occasion does not start what should I check for? Knck sensor ign coil, etc.

[Arkitech]

I have a 2000 Mercury Villager (6 cylinder). For the past 3-4 weeks the car will occasionally not start, this usually happens early in the day. In fact now that I think about it, if the car starts I never have problems in the same day with it not starting.

I have replaced the spark plugs and wires and later the fuel filter(last week). On my last fill up about 4 days ago I also added a cleaner. I had noticed some hesitation, but since the replacement of the filter that seems to have gone away.

A code that I pulled from the vehicle mentioned that the knock sensor could be bad. Could a knock sensor prevent the car from starting? Also as far as I know the ignition coil has not been replaced in a long time (if ever), could this be the culprit?

 

[jlee]

What happens when you turn the key? A failed knock sensor should throw a check engine light but it won't prevent the engine from starting/running.

 

[Arkitech]

The car turns over fine, but just won't start. Could a failed knock sensor throw off the timing that would affect startup?

 

[jlee]

Nope. A bad coil could cause that, but it'd be less intermittent. Have you checked for spark / fuel?