Mitsubishi: Eclipse Wont Start, neutral safety switch, valet mode


Question
Just had the tranny rebuilt due to clogged radiator.  3/4 days following repair car wouldn't start.  Thought starter was jamming since daughter said she heard a winding/grinding noise once on the 2nd day.  Turns out when we towed it back to AAMCO (yeah!) the admitted to having a problem getting it started at first also.  This is where it gets wierd - the used the factory keyless entry to unlock the car put the key in the ignition and it started right up.  Prior to that I spent hours pulling battery, trying my trucks battery, Eclipse battery started my truck like a champ, checking wires, smacking the #%&$ out of the starter with nothing but a very faint clicking sound.  Called dealer for advice and they suggested PCM may be culprit.  I have a friends hand held analyzer and was going to put it on the car tonight (if I can figure out how it works), but afraid if its intermittent electrical I'll be chasing my butt around the flag pole.  Any ideas?  I may take it to the dealer for a free checkout tomorrow, but nothing is free, ever!

Answer
The reason for this may be due to an alarm system on and using the keyless deactivates it. When we do transmissions we must disconnect the battery, which in turn resets the alarm to default which is active. You may have had it in valet mode before. I am the alarm king here at our shop and am always helping out the crew with these silly things.

There is another thing that happens when we do trans work. The MLPS (neutral safety switch) sometimes is not aligned correctly. In this case, it would need to be adjusted for sure, but you can start the car by slowly moving the selector down from park while holding the key in the start position.