happy ending

Mijn probleem

that battery wasn't just DEAD...it was swelling up like a balloon.

Mijn oplossing

actually made the fix easier- that swollen battery popped the case open for me, so i didn't have to sweat prying the case halves apart. i don't recommend this method of disassembly, though. on reassembly, the worst part was scraping all that gummy double-stick stuff off the case edges. i didn't have a high expectation of making it watertight again since the case was cracked, so i didn't bother putting a lot of new double-stick all the way around the perimeter, i just slapped on a few patches here and there to make a convincing probability that it would stay together. so far, so good.

Mijn advies

i don't think any post-factory reassembly has a very high probability of being waterproof, for a number of reasons, so i suggest not getting too obsessive about anything except keeping the finished product away from rain, kitchen sinks and toilets.