1991 Olds Ciera 3.3L Code 43

'91 Olds Ciera 3.3L 160K miles. It ran fine (according to my son) when he went to work. Went to start it after work and it was coughing and sputtering, and wouldn't stay started. Temp light and SES light was on. I went there and first noticed that his gas gauge was at Empty. for grins I tried starting it and it wouldn't start without putting the gas to the floor. Put a couple of gallons of gas in the tank and tried to start it. It stayed started, albeit idling high. I drove it across the parking lot and it quit running, but would not start again. Left it until morning and returned with code scanner. Recvd codes 14 and 43. cleared the codes and the the car started right up, sounded great. Drove about 100 yards and the SES light came on, then the car quit. Wouldn't start and gave code 43 again. Towed it home and left until the next day. Cleared the codes and tried starting it again. Started after holding pedal to the floor. Idled high and does have a pinging sound. SES light came out right away. Left it running for a minute and the temp light came on. Turned the car off and tried to restart, but wouldn't start. Checked codes and returned with Code 14 and 43. I haven't raised the car yet to check the knock sensor. Just wondering what I should look for or check in this situation? Any help would be appreciated as my son can't afford another car and neither can I!

Welcome to AF !!

The 14 is Engine Coolant Temperature(ETC)Sensor Circuit-high temperature, I doubt that would keep it from running but wouldnt hurt to check the wires/circuit.
And the 43 is the Knock Sensor(KS) Circuit - spark control.

I would check that circuit it could have came unpluged , does sound like a bad KR though.

Hi, and thanks for the reply. However I am not sure what you mean by a bad KR? If you meant knock sensor I am leaning towards that too. I ended up taking it in to the dealer however they couldn't try test driving it as one of the brake lines developed a leak! Anyway, they claim it is the coolant sensor based on their idling diagnostic scan. However I think their diagnostic is suspect as the service rep tried to tell me that the coolant sensor is on the intake side, but I am pretty sure it is on the opposite side above the water pump. At least the sensor I looked at on the car was on that side. Would you happen to know where it is located? Thanks again.

Update: Replaced coolant sensor and knock sensor. Car started OK, no codes came back. Drove for about 3 miles no problem, then car started surging, but no SES light, turned around to go back home, surging got worse. Made it to the driveway and car quit. After a few tries started back up but kept surging. Made it to the house and the car quit. Wouldn't restart. Scanned codes and it returned 14,26, and 43. Coolant sensor, knock sensor and now the 26, which I believe is quad driver? Anyway, I disconnected the battery and went to a family event. Next morning connected the battery, started the car OK, and no codes. Let it idle for about 5 minutes, then put it in reverse, backed out, then in to Drive, and the car started surging, coolant light and SES light came on, car quit. Wouldn't restart. Scanned for codes but my scanner wouldn't work.(Fan didn't come on with the code reader on it. ) I tried jumping the two pins, but still nothing. At this point could it be the ECM??

If the wires/circuits for those components are in good shape then its quite possible your ECM is bad, but I'd do a litttle more diggin before replacing.

Hav you checked your fuel pressure ?
When was the lasttime your fuel filter was changed ?

I would also check the wires/circuits for the Mass Air Flow sensor- MAF sensor.
If this is bad it has simular effects, sometimes wont run at all if its bad or the circuits are broken.

The wire connector for the knock sensor and coolant sensor were full of gunk, so i can try cleaning them better. I changed the fuel filter when all of this first started. As for the fuel pressure it was 42psi, which I checked when this first started. Even though I don't have a code for it I think the MAF is a good place to look too. I will do that and post my results. Thanks

Well, after cleaning all the connectors (Knock sensor, coolant sensor, temp sensor), to no avail, the only thing that was left as far as these sensors go was the computer itself. I removed it and exchanged it for another from the local junkyard. It appears to have been the problem as we have logged 30 miles on the car with no issues.