BTW; 72 = battery, 70 = starter, 68 = alternator

 

And I did of course read the suggestion to check and clean the connection to the solenoid, I just found it very difficult to reach, so haven't tried.

 

Hello, I am glad you are making progress. I smell a common rat at work here. What I suspect is the power feed to your ignition switch , or the rat that is a failed ignition switch.Yes they fail in many makes and models. If the switch itself is correctly supplied with power, one of the symptoms can be erratic or no power supplied to your starter solenoid. Another is the same issue with feeds to other circuits. To confirm all you need do is make certain your transmission is in park or neutral. Then attach by a clip a fused wire directly to the starter solenoid actuation wire. brush the other end against the live positive on the battery. If the circuit between the positive post , through the feed to the solenoid and the starter is grounded correctly and your battery is correctly charged this actuates your starter, giving you valuable information.

 

All, I ended up throwing in the towel here. According to the garage, there was something fishy with the starter/solenoid. Apparently they were able to start the car while "banging it" a bit with a hammer... So the starter is out to be serviced, hoping to have it back within a few days. If I can get a better explanation, I will try to translate and post it.

Thanks again,
Thomas

 

Thomas, I am glad that you are making positive progress. Starters in general die this way. #1 Usually without warning . #2 In a awkward location . #3 when you are in a hurry.
The good news is most correctly rebuilt units give long reliable service. You are fortunate that yours is a commonly used unit, and Bosch solenoids and starters are known for their reliability. Your garage has the choice of just replacing the solenoid with a new one, replace the complete starter, or rebuild it. Once it is repaired you will have a very reliable car. Drive safe and enjoy your fine car. Allan