Is my old *ist DS dead?

Boohoo. I use my old *ist DS as a backup body to my K-5; or at least, I did until yesterday morning. Now, when I turn the DS on, the LCD display is normal, but it won't do anything except make a rapid soft clicking noise somewhere inside the body whenever the shutter is depressed; doesn't matter what the mode dial is set at. No meter activation, no autofocus, no shutter release. The solenoid-operated flash popup button works, but is accompanied by the clicking. The menu and playback buttons operate normally.

I've made sure it has fresh batteries, and that the firmware is the latest version (2.02), but I can't think of anything else that I can do. The downside of course is that even if it is repairable, it would probably cost more than the body is worth to get it fixed.

Does anyone have any ideas, or is the dear old DS dead?

Cheers,
Martyn

You could wipe the electronic contacts on mount and lens with a soft dry cloth to remove ant grease build up. Otherwise, there's not much you can do apart from checking batteries and then sending the camera back to JPS for a quote.

Or use it as a project like your ME John, see how long it lasts outdoors unprotected

Or get the lads at Mythbusters to blow it up?

Thanks all; looks like it's a goner. Maybe I'll dismantle it like I did an old non-functional S3 a couple of years ago.