Many JBL speakers, including the Clip 2, sport a status light that glows red while charging / recharging the speakers. Sometimes though, this red light stays on. E.g. It does not turn off once charging is done. In this post, we offer reasons that this occurs and possible fixes for this common problem.
Why JBL Clip 2 Red Light Stays On
It’s normal that this red light glows while the charger cable is connected to the Clip 2 for up to a few hours, until the battery completely fills up. Then, when all is well, this light should switch off, or turn to blue if the speaker is powered ON.
Or, the light should turn off when recharging is finished, as shown next.
If the red lamp does not change to blue or go dark, a couple things might cause this.
1.The AC or Car Outlet May Not Have Power
The Problem
The AC or car adapter for the JBL Clip 2 may not deliver any power because it is not receiving any to begin with. This can happen due to a defective AC or car circuit, tripped circuit breaker, blown fuse, faulty wiring, power failure, and the like.
The Fix
Check that your outlet has power by testing it by plugging in a lamp or other device. Reset circuit breakers if tripped, and if the outlet has a light switch that controls it, then be sure that that switch is in the ON position.
1. Power Supply is Too Weak or Defective
The JBL Clip 2 red light stays on perhaps because the charging adapter you’re using provides SOME but not ENOUGH juice. Or, the output power has decreased as it ages. The speaker requires at least 0.5 amps of charging current at 5 volts (2.5 watts) from the supply to fully recharge in the specified time of 2.5 hours.
The fix is to replace the adapter, preferably with a higher output model.
2. The USB Charging Cord is Too Long, Thin, or is Defective
The USB cable can lower the charging current even if your power supply is working correctly. This might happen with excessively long, thin, or defective cables.
To solve this, use as short a cord as is practical. Or, upgrade to a thicker, higher current handling cable. We suggest keeping cable lengths to six feet or less, and to choose a cable that is certified to carry at least 1.0 amps. When in doubt, use a new cable.
3. The Battery Needs Replaced
As lithium ion batteries age, they lose their ability to fully recharge, and the characteristics of the charging current they draw changes as they get older. Normally, as a battery charges, it draws less and less charging current as this recharging progresses. We believe that the speaker monitors this, and when the charge current falls to a value that it interprets as the battery being fully charged, then it shuts off the red light and switches off the charging current. But a faulty battery may not behave this way, and continue consuming higher power. So in this case, the current never falls to the fully charged value, and so the red lamp never turns off.
To fix this, replace the battery, although you can’t easily get to it in the JBL Clip 2. Changing the battery requires that you disassemble the speaker. Note that doing this likely breaks the waterproof seal so that the unit will no longer resist damage should you dunk it. Breaking this seal may also change how the unit sounds as well. So battery replacement should be done by someone who knows how to choose the right replacement battery, and can restore the seal as they put the speaker back together. A good battery should fit inside and provide 3.7 volts and at least 730 mAh (2.7 watt-hours). But we suggest using only JBL certified replacement batteries for this speaker.
4. The Speaker Might be Defective when the JBL Clip 2 Red Light Stays On
Even if you have an adequate power supply and cable with a working battery, the charging current that actually reaches the battery may be too low or too high. The can happen when the battery management electronics inside the Clip 2 go bad. These circuits watch the battery and shut off the charging current when they deem it fully recharged. But when they fail, the battery might receive no charging current at all, and thus never recharge. Again, in this case, the red light might never turn off while the charger is connected. You would also notice that the speaker doesn’t play as long before going dead. Or it might not play at all except when you’re charging it.
The most practical solution here, given the relatively low cost of the JBL Clip 2, is simply to buy a new speaker. The micro circuits in this model are very small. So unless you can replace the system board(s), just buy another speaker to avoid the time and headache of repairs.
Related Posts to JBL Clip 2 Red Light Stays On
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Other Posts About the JBL Clip 2 Speaker
- JBL Clip 2 Charger, Which USB Charger Replacement
- Clip 2 JBL Specs, Specifications for this Speaker
- JBL Clip 2 Battery Indicator, Charging Indicator Light
- JBL Clip 2 Reset Button Location on this JBL Speaker
- How to Connect JBL Clip 2 to iPhone
References for JBL Clip 2 Red Light Stays On
Revision History
- 2020-08-28: First posted.