91 Honda accord lx. Oil change now won't start
 

It's been a while since I've been here. That's a good thing right? No problems whatsoever. I even got the window fixed.

Now, today, at around 1pm I went to get an oil change. I was hesitant because it had been a while (try almost a year) but I thought I didn't need one because I almost never use this car. So anyway, I went to where my brother goes $20 10minute oil change.

Car turned on fine while there, ran fine the 2 minutes it took to get to my moms restaurant. I turned it off and was inside for about an hour. Came back our, tried to turn it on, but it wouldn't. Check engine light and oil light were on. Called the place they told me thy would be there soon. Took them an hour before I got in my moms car and drove over there. They followed me, car turned on fine, they checked oil levels, and car turns off by itself. They said it was nothing they did and they leave. I call a different location because I was pissed off already, that manager comes and checks, and car will not turn on.

He sees that the car won't turn on, says to call the main office and that the owner will call me. I highly doubt it but I called anyway. So I called my dads mechanic because he lets me do payments when I can't pay in full. Waiting for him right now but I just want to see what everyone else thinks it is.

One more thing, car turns on fine when the check engine and oil lights turn off after the key is put in, but if the lights stay on, it will want to turn on but won't.

Edit: My friend did a reviews search for the place I got the oil change done. Almost everyone has had problems with their cars after the oil changes. Some people say that parts in their cars got switched with older parts so that they would have to go back and pay to get it fixed. Some say that the transmission fluid they use has been 'recycled', and others say that it is a bitch to get them to pay for it. So, I talked it over with my mother and she said to not even bother with them anymore. She will pay for the repair as long as I promise to never go there again.

Help me understand some "terms"

Car cranks over/spins over = starter spins motor but it does no run on its own.


Car does nothing = key to start and the starter does not spin the engine at all.

Car cranks over but won't start

Edit: one of the customers at y mom restaurant is a mechanic, he took a look at it and said that just by looking over it and hearing it try to turn on, it's the distributor cap. I had it changed about a year ago.

If the oil level is good, then changing the oil did not cause your problem.

This sounds like a possible problem with the engine computer. You may want to disconnect the battery and clean all ends of both battery cables. Use a wire brush or sand paper. There is also an important ground on the driver's side of the upper intake manifold.

I thought that the oil pressure light stayed on until the engine starts up.

Yes, the oil pressure light will stay on until the engine actually starts. That part is normal.

Since the shop has such a good reputation, make sure you check the oil level (on the dipstick) for yourself.

Not sure if there's any part of the wiring harness that they could "accidentally" mess up during an oil change? Poorman knows the 91 better than I do.

When you want to start the car, get into the habit of doing this...
- turn off the ventilation, radio, all noisemakers
- turn the key to ON but not immediately to START
- listen for the fuel pump to run for 2 seconds then stop (same time as the engine lamp)
- see if the fuel pump DOES NOT run at the times when the engine lamp stays on??

Someone said it's the distributor cap? Check for loose wiring harness plugs at the distributor body.

fuel pump is confirmed to work. Dad's mechanic came over and said the same thing as the other mechanic that happened to be at my mom's restaurant and happened to look at it. It's the distributor cap.

Called my mechanic to check if he still has receipts for the stuff he replaced along with it and he said yes. Said to take it over when I can since he doesn't have a tow truck. He says he will make sure its the distributor cap though since he does find it weird also that this happend right after the oil change.

Battery is a bit over a year old, I make sure the wires are clean by brushing them if I see anything on them. Might be a stupid question but does the gas needle go up after an oil change? Mine was at the halfway mark and shot up almost to full after the oil change.

The fuel gauge should not get messed up by an oil change (unless a really generous shop actually fills your tank). But the fuel gauge acting funny is another thing pointing to a wiring problem going back to the fuel pump.

The problem is intermittent, right? Does the pump run even on the occasions where the engine fails to start?

But a distributor cap is not very expensive, and it's a normal maintenance part. It certainly won't HURT to get a new one.

Yes, the pump runs when the car fails to start.
The distributor was put in brand new about a year ago and my mechanic said that he was going to fish out the receipt for it. It should still have the warranty.

For right now, it's sitting in the parking lot at my mom's restaurant until I can get $40 to get it towed to the mechanics.

The odds of something "magically" going wrong when you just had your oil change done is astronomical.

I would politely and frankly suggest do NOT under any circumstances go back there.

I have a hard time believing that the cap is bad after one year however what exactly did they say was wrong with the cap ?