2000 Cougar takes its tie starting up sometimes it won't start at all

SOURCE: The windshield wipers and the

you could have a short in the ignition itself, which as the keys swing back and forth causes a stoppage in the circuit, Mercury has had that problem for years , check all fuses, and with the wipers check the relay also, as far as the lighter,, they will short out , and most car makers suggest not using them for added purposes since they tend to go bad , they were intended to heat a small wire that draws low amperage,, enough to light a cig , some plug in units require more amps and will heat up the socket , which will then short out, causing damage

SOURCE: My mercury cougar won't start, all lights are ok

Take another look at the battery, clean the posts and the terminal ends. Charge the battery, or jumpstart from another vehicle, and allow it to run for 5 to 10 minutes. Shut the vehicle off and see if it will start again. If not you will most likely need to replace the battery.

SOURCE: Car is trying to crank over, will not take a jump. 2000 Cougar

I had the same problem in my 02 Eurospec XR. The first aspect of it was my coil pack. replaced coil pack and it had a rough idle. The second issue was plug fouling. Replaced with Bosch double platinum and hasn't had an issue for 6 months now.

SOURCE: Mercury cougar wont start

My first suspicion is the battery connections may be lose and also the battery may now be run down. If you take the terminal connections off and clean them and the terminal posts so that they are shiny clean and charge the battery you can try again. If the car starts, that was the problem. If it doesn't, then look for the starter solenoid and lose connections there and also look toward the starter next. A tech with a volt meter can run independent checks and narrow it down further but having good connections and a charged battery are necessary to get started with the other tests.

SOURCE: 2007 mercury grand marquis, has auto remote start.

What brand is the remote start, and is it new to the vehicle or has it been on and working properly for a while?

Most remote starts have a feature that will shut the vehicle off when the brake is applied after the vehicle was started with the remote and the key has not been used to turn the ignition. However this is not what happened in your case. Some remote starts have an on/off switch that is installed under the dash, depending on brand and installation. If you have that switch, turn it off. If this does not correct the problem, locate the power with for the remote start and disconnect it. If this still doesn't correct the problem then is sounds like it has caused other electrical issues.