Trying to power on my first raspberry pi (pi 2 model v V1.1). The ACT led is solid green but the RED led does not light up and nothing on HDMI display.

Here is what I tried so far,

1. Source of power is the Apple 10W wall adapter (tried an alternative one too). Both read +5V using a multimeter.
2. The micro USB cable seems to be thick enough. Tried the branded ones from Samsung & Blackberry.
3. Tried powering directly via GPIO pins (2 & 6)
4. Tried with/without/replacement SD card (Sandisk Class 10 16GB)

I've measured the following,

1. Voltage between pin PP2 and ground (+5.01 volts)
2. Voltage, when not powered by GPIO pins, between PIN 2 & ground (+4.92 volts)
3. Voltage, when not powered by GPIO pins, between PIN 1 & ground (+3.33 volts)
4. Voltage, when not powered by GPIO pins, between PP10 and ground (+3.33 volts)
5. Current, when connected via GPIO pins, starts at 0.84 amps and then drops to 0.6-0.7 amps

With my ear held close to the Pi 2, I can hear a faint and fast ticking noise when the power is switched on. Also, the board gets warm after being on for a while. However, no RED led and nothing on the HDMI display.

I can return it, of course, but would love it if there is a way to avoid the process. Any ideas?