I have a 1998 ford escort 4 door (I beleive that is the SE option) and I
think its a 2.0L engine.
About a week ago the battery died and i had to replace the battery and the
alternator. Then yesterday the car died while i was on my way to work, but
this time it cranked but wouldn't start. When i opened the hood I noticed
that the sepentine belt must have skipped a tooth and was frayed, so I
assumed the problem was the belt and the crankshaft position sensor (the
belt was rubbing on it).
Once i replaced it, the car fired right up. Later that night though, it
wouldn't start again. so, a freind came over and checkced for spark and
said to try to replace the coil. once again, the car fired right up and ran
fine for several minutes. Once he left I got dressed to go out, and the car
won't start again.
We checked for codes with his Snap-On scanner and didn't get any.
Even though the problem is intermittant, it will usually not start.

Since there are no codes, I have no idea where to start.