With the tiny amount of info provided and the urgency to use the trailer tomorrow, I suggest you take the whole thing to a local service garage or u-haul place or something similar that will install it for you. You never posted the year or model, but you can buy adapter kits for most newer vehicles that just plug into a an existing splice or hidden outlet.

Isn't this kind of work fun? The only time you can measure and test for the problem is while it's happening. Any other time that the car actually starts, everything you test will be "spot on" as you put it. Which is a reference to the most likely suspect for your mothers car's symptom. Low fuel pressure I.E. a bad pump. These things will not start with 54PSI of fuel pressure, they must achieve 56PSI! Your gage has to be accurate within 1PSI in that range to actually see this occuring. The thing is, hitting this with a little ether (I prefer propane) will give it some fuel to burn and increase manifold vacuum, and often times allows the car to start, because the vacuum actually helps open the poppet injectors. The poppet injectors are why this thing needs a minimum of 56PSI to start. Other things to consider. "Spark volume" I know you replaced secondary ignition, did you clean the breathers in the base of the distributor? They tend to clog, and then crankcase gasses will collect in the distributor causing corrosion, and then the spark will short to ground inside the distributor. Fuel: It takes more than just fuel pressure to ensure the engine is getting fuel. The injector must be triggered on by the PCM. I have had the two wire connector between the engine harness and the injector corrode and cause a loss of injector command. Plus you need to have a good crank signal trigger to not only tell the computer to drive the injector, but to command the module to trigger the coil. Tell me, when the car acts up. Key on, you hear the pump run for two seconds. Start cranking the engine, do you hear the pump turn back on? This would tell me if the PCM sees the signal from the crank sensor.

Hi Timgren Yes there are still real mechanics, although we think of ourselves as Automotive Technicians these days. As has been said by others, you need to find a good shop, with a strong diagnostic technician, and then stick with them even if they don't nail this the first time. However, after what I write here, if I don't skip anything I should be able to give them all the ammo they need to get this one. One of the things that I have preached for the last 5 odd years that I have posted here is for people to test, and not just throw parts at someones car problem "because that is what was wrong with their neighbors, or relative, or whoevers car" when it was doing the same thing. Todays cars simply have so many ways to produce the same symptoms that nothing but solid diagnostic routines will provide accurate answers. Sadly, the industry still tries to compete between shops by price, and consumers reward this by trying to go to the cheapest place, and hopefully for them the cheapest fix first. Thats why you have had plugs thrown in, filters, a fuel pump ect. Most of the time the symptoms you describe can be caused by these components, but not always. One of the most telling parts though was the convertor replacement. That is something that has two possible causes for the failure, either a missfire was occuring and or the convertor overworking, or quite commonly insulation between the double walled pipe in front of the convertor is coming out of place and blocking the convertor. Without knowing first hand, I'd have to rely on seeing your truck to know, but I suspect you have more than one convertor. One of the things that need to be done is a road test with a good scan tool, (GM's Tech II) not some $300.00 code reader and a snapshot of scan data saved to be looked at to analyze the failure. Basically if the engine is losing power something is affecting either, fuel delivery, spark timing, spark strength, engine displacement, or some combination of those. Scan data has the ability to show a trained technician almost all of that except for strength of the spark. What I would do if your truck came here is first road test the truck under the conditions that display the loss of power and capture a snapshot of the scan data. When I got back to the shop I would concentrate on; mass airflow sensor readings in grams per second, MAP sensor voltage if used, engine RPM, throttle position, spark timing, knock sensor, timing retard, fuel trims, and O2 sensor voltages. One of the things that I can do back at the shop is calculate the volumetric efficiency of the engine using the MAF sensor reading at a given rpm. This would tell me right away if the engine is breathing correctly. I would compare MAF readings while the problem is occuring to TPS and MAP readings. BTW during the symptom event, I would purposely move the throttle around a bit, while keeping the truck acting up and then examine the results on the scan data. Fuel trims and O2 sensor voltages would tell me if we are dealing with a fuel pressure, fuel volume problem. Knock sensor, spark timing, and spark retard could help me identify everything from simply a bad knock sensor, to mechanical engine trouble, to even something loose on the truck rattling and making the knock sensor send a signal that the computer see's as the engine pinging. Lastly while back in the shop, I would go back over secondary ignition and ensure strength of spark, and other normal issues. Off hand I expect you have an individual coil for each plug. That pretty much in itself rules out a number of potential problems that could occur with other designs that could cause your symptoms. This testing that I have outlined would take very little time and would either have me already knowing what is wrong, or it would have me narrowing the investigation to only a few points having ruled out a large portion of the operating system. One thing that is mandatory is to forget anything else has been done to the truck, and test exactly as it is presented, and allow the results to lead me to the problem as it exists today. Feel free to contact me by e-mail once you have this back to a shop if they have trouble figuring it out. I will give you contact information for them and can help them analyze this via live chat on the net if they want. John G. ASE CMAT L1 BTW, thanks Akthy. Take care, we got to get together one of these days. Maybe Arts up for another party....

Here are some of the things that you have to do when you work on those 97 CK pickups. A friend down at the body shop just had the engine replace in his 97. They worked on it for about a month before I gave them this info. #1CRANKSHAFT VARIATION RELEARN (CASE Learn) "CASE" means: crankshaft angle sensor error. A crankshaft variation relearn must be performed if: A diagnostic trouble code of P1336 is present. The computer has been replaced or re-programmed. The crankshaft position sensor has been replaced. The engine, harmonic balancer, clutch, or flywheel have been: disassembled, removed, or replaced. The crankshaft position variation learning feature enables the computer to compensate for part manufacturing tolerances. This allows the computer to accurately detect an engine misfire throughout the engine RPM range. The learning process is stored in the computers memory and does not have to be repeated unless one or more of the above conditions are present. To perform the relearn, proceed as follows: Connect a scan tool to make sure there are no trouble codes stored in the computerÂs memory. If there is any power train trouble code other than P1336 (Crankshaft Position Variation not learned), the computer will disable the relearn function until the problem that aused the code has been eliminated. Also, make sure that the engine coolant (check it when the engine is cold) and oil levels are at an acceptable level. 1. Set the parking brake and block the drive wheels. Make sure that the hood is closed. 2. Start the engine and make sure that the engine coolant temperature is at least 158 degrees F. (70 degrees C.) 3. Turn the engine off for at least 10 seconds. 4. Select the crankshaft position variation learn procedure (CASE Learn)on your scan tool. 5. Make sure that the transmission is in Park. Start the engine. 6. Apply the brakes and hold the pedal firmly. 7. Follow the scan tool instructions. Remember: That you are going to increase the engine speed to approximately 3000 RPM, 4000 RPM, or 5150 RPM. ThatÂs the variation learn fuel cutoff RPM (depending upon the engine), and that itÂs important to release the throttle when the engine RPM starts to decrease as a result of the fuel cutoff going into effect. Failure to do such will result in over revving of the engine, causing possible engine damage. 8. Once the engine has returned to idle, check the status of Diagnostic trouble code P1336. If the scan tool indicates that the CASE has been learned, the relearn procedure is now complete. If CASE has not been learned, check for the presence of other power train codes. If any exist, correct the problem, then repeat this procedure. *************************************************************** *************************************************************** #2 1997 Chevrolet C Pickup 5.0L, 5.7L, and 7.4L Timing Below is the text from GM Service manual for 1997 Chevrolet C Pickup 5.0L, 5.7L, and 7.4L Accordind to this you don't set the timing but the timing offset. You need a "Scan Tool" that plugs into the truck and can read the data from the trucks computer. Besides from that, it looks like a normal timing procedure. You might be able to borrow a scan tool from a parts store, or at least use their tool and do it in their parking lot. Setting Timing Camshaft Retard Offset Test The ignition timing cannot be adjusted. The distributor may need adjusting to prevent crossfire. To insure proper alignment of the distributor, perform the following: With the ignition OFF, install a scan tool to the DLC. Start the engine and bring to normal operating temperature. Important Cam Retard Offset reading will not be accurate below 1000 RPM Increase engine speed to 1000 RPM. Monitor the Cam Retard Offset. If the Cam Retard indicates a value of 0° ± 2°, the distributor is properly adjusted. If the Cam Retard does not indicate 0° ± 2°, the distributor must be adjusted. Adjusting Camshaft Retard Offset With the engine OFF, slightly loosen the distributor hold down bolt. Important: Cam Retard Offset reading will not be accurate below 1000 RPM Start the engine and raise engine speed to 1000 RPM. Using a scan tool monitor Cam Retard Offset. Rotate the distributor as follows: To compensate for a negative reading, rotate the distributor in the counterclockwise direction. To compensate for a positive reading, rotate the distributor in the clockwise direction. Repeat step 4 until 0° ±2° is obtained. Turn the ignition OFF. Tighten the distributor hold-down bolt to 3N·m(25 lb. ft.). Start the engine, raise engine speed to 1000 RPM and recheck Camshaft Retard Offset. HTH Bob