My 75 year old father for some unknown reason decided to take his 94 with 39,000 miles on it that he bought 3 weeks ago to Walmart for an oil change. Now he is there to pick it up and it won't start--it turns over but no ignition. This car has been garaged and meticulously maintained up until this point. It is an automatic and is totally stock. Any ideas what might be going on? I have class tonight and can't drive 50 miles to help him and I'm afraid the dummies at Walmart are just going to make it worse!

 

Is the Yellow Security light on? If so try cleaning off the chip on the key and trying it again.

At key on, can you hear the fuel pump run for about 2 seconds or so?

 

I'll check

 

bet they left the key in the ign and tried to open the door.
Maybe VATS?

 

He said the security light was on but can't recall hearing the pump. He is now on the way home with my mom, having left his car at Walmart for the night. I think he has lost his mind.

 

If the security light was on steady, and no fuel pump. That is VATS working, or having a malfunction, thus preventing starting.

 

If he has another key for the car... have him try that before jumping in any deeper... I agree with the above comments about the VATS....

 

The VATS is a possibility, but he said the car turns over, but no start. My '88 won't even turn over with the VATS activated.

 

My camaro (1996 LT1) cranked and cranked when the vats went.....

Used my 2nd key... fired right up.

no security light...


Best thing I ever had done was tune out the vats.

 

............ Hooray for Dad !!! ........ up until the no start , this was his viagra moment ..........

 

I'm not really familiar with '94 "theft" and disarming I believe is somewhat complicated or errors frequently but I'd probably with the window down using the power door lock and after removing the keys use the door key in the door to unlock and see if that will disarm the system. I believe you need to make sure both doors and the hatch are securely latched.

Maybe someone with a similar experience can jump in and further explain but I believe it's "theft" and NOT a VATS issue by itself. It does crank has been mentioned.

Sit in car with "doors closed", key on open the window, make sure headlamps are off, turn key to off remove key, open the door to get out but stay in car (SECURITY) should be "flashing", using power door lock switch lock car and lamp should go "steady", get out close door lamp should go out in 2 - 5 seconds, reach through window and unlock with either slide **** or power switch, open door & horn should sound, disarm by either using door key and rotate as to unlock OR insert ignition key.

This may confirm operation and maybe disarm UTD system.

Like I say I've never done it! If it functions like the above and the lamp does as I mentioned something has failed in the system, door ajar switches and many other possibilities.

Good luck!

 

A similar thing happened to me, and it ended up being a combo of my starter needing replaced because it was over-heating and ignition (+key) needing replaced. VATS issues can be a pain. I wish you luck!

Odd that this happened literally right after taking it in for an oil change. Weird things like this have happened to me after taking my car in to the shop, and they all make me wonder if they are all just really coincidences or not...

 

It may very well be a VATS issue that motivated the previous owner to sell. You;d be shocked at how many people simply give up when the VATS acts up. Them not having the time or not being car savvy throw in the towel and bail out when its often a $20 key, a $12 relay or even a $30 bypass module that would solve the problem.

Some notes:
if the starter is working but the engine is not firing, that could mean the VATS starter relay has been bypassed but the VATS fuel disable is still functional.

Normal VATS operation when triggered is to disable the starter AND the fuel injection. The first VATS component to fail will usually be the starter relay...a $7 part. But, people will spend all day on the internet and take their dash apart just to install a jumper wire instead of a new relay and they THINK they ended the problem forever...NOT.
Next time when the fuel shuts down and the car won;t start....then it starts 15 minutes later they go into full freak out mode and start recalling all the horror stories of misc repairs that cost as much as the car. Mostly urban legends, the fast answer is to bail and make it someone else's problem.

Chances are the car will start today. Make sure the doors are all closed, and unlock a door with the key to deactivate the VATS. Make sure you fully insert the key in the ignition. That black pellet MUST come in contact with metal tabs inside the key switch or the ECM will see this as an attempted theft and disable the system. Key switches wear out, so do keys.
If it fails to fire again, but the starter turns the engine over, test fuel pressure and spark. There is a small chance that you have been driving on a bad fuel pump relay, and IF SO, its been starting up to now with the oil pressure switch...IF you drained all the oil in a change, the switch could not close and supply power to the pump...so you get cranking but NO FIRE UP....NO FUEL.
crank it for several seconds...3-4 then stop. This will help build the 4 psi needed to get the oil pressure switch to close and send power to the fuel pump.

Should be a 2 second run of the pump to prime the system at Key ON..then it stops until the engine fires.

Oil change places are GREAT for doing damage and making messes...they somehow seem to find ways to mess with things unrelated to their task...

I've had my engine soaked in oil from caps left off, missing dipsticks, things unplugged. When Iffy Lube starts to hire real techs instead of pimple farmers I might consider returning.

 

I'm sure it's not the first car taken to Wal-Mart for an oil change that wound up sitting overnight...

If it cranks, it is most not likely to be the vats. Leesvett had a point about the fuel pump relay. Make sure that every thing is hooked up, and that they used the correct filter PF52. Also make sure simple things like the coil wire is snug etc. Sometimes if you take these things to places like this, they think it's some type of exotic and you have to do this and do that. Some of the green peas don't realize it's just a Chevy V8.

Check underneath as well, if they missed the lift points they might have pinched a fuel line or something. You just never know, I hate having people I don't know do anything to my car.

 

Good point !

I had a tire shop cave in my floor pan with a floor jack....

another time I happened to look out the waiting room window to see some fool about to lift the car from the rear...jack under fuel tank!

I don;t expect these wanna be's to know everything, but I DO expect them to ASK about what they do not know or understand.