I have a 94 lx I just did an oil change on.when I went to start it up it started briefly then shut off. Now it cranks but won't start...tried new plugs. What have I done wrong here?

 

Is this a 2.2L engine ? |

By the way welcome to the HAF...

 

thanks....

 

yes it's the 2.2. I just bought the car from my brother in law who sometimes procrastinates on car maint. so when i got it the mait light was on oil level was good but quite black when it came out. Oil pressure light also breifly came on while idling at stop light when driving home from work this morning....thats why i decided to do oil change today.....thought i'd try replacing pump if light came on after change. now it wont even start though......I really like this car as opposed to driving my camaro all over town.... I'm quite bummed but i know ery little about cars much less Hondas.....all i know is i like this one and want it to run.

 

What is happening when it will not start? Does the starter spin the engine, or does nothing happen when you turn the key?

If the oil level is good, and the low oil pressure light is turning on, then you either have low oil pressure, or the oil pressure sensor is faulty. The sensor (oil pressure sending unit) is ~$15 at the dealership and is pretty simple to replace. I would try that first to see if that fixes the problem.

If you have low oil pressure, it could be the pump. The pump only puts out a constant volume of oil, the bearing clearances create the pressure. So you could be looking at an expensive repair to rebuild/replace the engine. Try the sending unit first. You can hook up an oil pressure gauge when you remove the sending unit, to see what the actual oil pressure is.

Also, when was the timing belt last replaced?

 

It cranks. it's acting like a spark or fuel problem. Thats why I tried the plugs first...dont know on timing belt. Where is this switch located and would this by chance be a like safety feature? Won't start because it senses low pressure, or is car to old?

 

The car will start with the low oil pressure light turned on. The pressure sending unit is above the oil filter near the cylinder head.

I would first check for error codes. See how to get CEL codes in the DIY section. Post any codes you find on here.

You will have to determine if the problem is due to lack of spark or lack of fuel. If you have a timing light, you can hook it up to each cylinder wire and see if there is enough spark to flash the timing light. You can use an old spark plug to test for spark, but this can lead you down the wrong path. See the tegger site referenced in the sticky at the top of the gen tech help forum.

For fuel, I would turn the key to the II position, and listen for the fuel pump to turn on for ~2 seconds when the check engine light is turned on. It is a faint whirling/buzzing sound that comes from the back seat, so turn off radio, blower, etc and listen carefully.