Mitsubishi Repair: car wont start..., eclipse gsx, starter wire

Question
hi first ill start by telling you my car, it is a 95 eclipse gsx.  ok so my car was running fine till about a week ago.  i started the car, everything felt normal. then i went to the mall for a couple of hours. came back and my car cranked right up.  then went to a gas station about an hour later, shut the car off waited like 10 mins tried to crank it up and nothing happened.  so i go under my hood thinking it might be a short of something i unplug all my radio and speaker wires, still no crank.  so thank God my car is a manual because i could still push start it.  so i have checked the alternator and it is fine, i'm 95% sure the starter is fine.  still no crank. iv tried jumping it off and starting it but still no crank. iv checked every possible fuse/relay and everyone is ok.  i can turn my key over and all my lights come on like normal.  if you have any idea what the problem might be i am open to any suggestions.

Thanks,
Alex

Answer
You can narrow the problem down by jumpering the small terminal on the starter to the battery positive. You will need to make sure the vehicle is in NEUTRAL and the emergency brake is on. If the car starts cranking over, then the starter is fine and you likely have a bad clutch switch or starter relay. The clutch switch is located on the clutch pedal, a quick visual to ensure that it is connected. If it isn't, the next easiest step would to then disconnect the switch and jumper the switch, which would bypass the need to push the clutch pedal in to start (ensuring you reconnected the starter wire to the starter). If that doesn't take care of it, the starter relay is located behind the radio bolted to the floor. It is the smaller unit, on the far left. jumpering the black-yellow to a black-red wire (there are two) should then also allow the starter to engage. If it does now crank over, then you have a relay or relay control issue and that will require knowing whether you have anti-theft and at least a test-light.  Get back to me when you have it narrowed down, and I'll run you the rest of the way through the diagnosis.

Kelly