Van wont start
 

I have a 2004 freestar. On Monday my wife was driving my son to school in the rain when the van just died. We have not been able to start it since. The engine turns over with no trouble but will not start. I have checked the fuel system and changed the fuel filter and that end seems good. I pulled one plug and turned the engine over and I have no spark. I have had some issues with the cam shaft sensor in the past but after lubricating it it has been fine. I do occasionally have issues with the engine lugging a bit on hills and some rough running I did have a brief engine code for a miss on cylinder #1 and ordered new plugs and wires. I have yet to install them but will be starting that today. Is there anything else that I could be missing that could be causing this problem. I have also picked up a new coil pack after seeing what was involved in getting to it to change the wires and plugs.

I believe you are on the right track. Of course we don't know how many miles are on the vehicle, but it appears you have reason to suspect those ign items. The coils were especially troublesome and damp weather just seemed to bring out the problem.
Let us know if there is still a starting problem.

update
 

So I tested the coil and it all tests out good. After further checks I have found that I have no power at the Cam Shaft sensor. Any ideas.

all depends on what engine you have and what type of camshaft position sensor is used.
a magnetic pulse generator, two wire sensor generates an ac output and is not fed power. a 3 wire hall effect sensor is feed power. which do you have?


not sure about fords...but usually, loss of a cam sensor will cause a long crank but it will start.....it will use the crank signal but it must make a complete revolution before the pcm can id cylinder 1.


any dtc set? any theft lights on?

I have the 4.2 liter. The cam shaft sensor is 2 wire. Not sure about the theft light. What should the theft light be doing. I have tested the output to the coil pack and I do have 12 volts to the pack but I do not get any pulse signal to the other 3 leads during start attempt. One of the three is giving me a ground signal on my tester.

Theft light
 

If you have a theft indication you need to look at the key and lock cylinder to make sure it's picking the key and FOB up. The system cuts off fuel and will not allow the engine to start until it's reset or it finds the key correctly. Hope this helps. M