My daughter went to walmart for an oil change for her 92 Chevy Lumina 3.1 coupe. After they changed the oil, the car wouldnt start and we had to have it towed home. Checked the battery, starter, alt and fuel pump. The car does not have an oil pressure switch. What other possibilities can I check? The car will spin but not turn over.
Asked by j_d_bonner Nov 13, 2012 at 10:07 PM about the 1992 Chevrolet Lumina Euro Coupe FWD
Question type: General
5 Answers
check for spark and actual fuel pressure and crank it to listen to the sound of the starter for a nice even smooth sound let me know what u found
in addition, smell any fuel in the exhaust when cranking? got a fuel pump hiss? let the car sit for 2 hrs..is the oil level on the dipstick in operation range? if above how far?
90V6RedHotLuminaEuro... answered 12 years ago
Does the engine sound like it's spinning Very smoothly... maybe even a little faster than usual?....... Your Oil pressure sensor is also the switch for the fuel pump. When the oil pressure comes up, as you turn the key to On, it primes and turns on the fuel pump. If there's no oil pressure, or the connector came undone, you won't get fuel to the engine. Listen to the car near the rear, and when you turn the key, you should hear the fuel pump "buzz" and prime........ The connector for the oil pressure switch is located at the front of the engine, just a bit to the right, and above the Starter..... and NEAR THE OIL FILTER! .......Your car is a 92, the wires and connectors may be getting brittle. They crack and fall apart easy... (I have a '90 lumina Euro Coupe... trust me when I suggest you check your wires, connectors, mounts, vacuum lines, and anything else that's rubber or plastic on the car when you get a chance...if the car is still alive)....... Since the boys were working on the car, in that area, I can see how the connector may have come off or broke........ or maybe some other wires/connectors....... There are also two other very important sensors necessary for your engine to start, the crankshaft sensor, and the knock sensor... both are located in somewhat difficult areas to get to, both are in hot spots, and they're probably somewhat brittle..... but I can't see how the oil change techs would have to get near them to knock them off, but it's still possible, if they accidentally yanked the harness some how. .......If Everything checks out... then you need to pop off the valve cover on the front and make sure the rocker arms are moving when you crank the engine... if not, then your timing chain snapped... (and if your answer to my first question is "yes"... that will be the explanation as well, for a rapidly spinning engine). The 3.1 engine is what's known as an "interference" design... which basically means, when the timing chain snaps, it wrecks the valve train.... (been there... huge bucks... sheesh...)
They say they changed the oil, but maybe they drained it, put on new filter but did not out any oil back in, u have to figure its walmart, ive heard of them doing that, check to see if u have oil in the car
On the 1990 Lumina Euro 3.1 Liter there is an oil pressure sensor Switch that is located near the oil filter, the electrical harness (with the connector end ) that plugs into this sensor hangs across the oil filter, making it hard to back off or loosen the oil filter. Therefore it is necessary to unplug this sensor in order to remove the oil filter. Maybe this sensor is still unplugged. Even though this car is newer than the 1990 lumina that I have it may have the same harness configuration.