JBL Charge 4 Blinking Red Light

JBL Charge 4 red light glowing.

Many JBL speakers, including the Charge 4, have a blinking red light when the battery is about dead. We find this lamp in the battery gauge on the speaker’s base, in the front. Sometimes though, this light flashes for long periods as you play the speaker. E.g. It begins pulsating red during play and does not stop, even when you connect a charger. Thus in this post, we give reasons why this happens. Then we give possible fixes.

JBL Charge 4 Blinking Red Light: Reasons and Fixes

It’s normal that the battery gauge gives off a blinking red light when the battery is very low. But this lamp should turn white when you connect the speaker to a charger, and battery recharging begins.

JBL Charge 4 red light glowing.

Normally though, this gauge only shows white lights. The number of lamps that glow tells you how full the battery is. It can appear as follows.

Front view of the speaker, powered ON, and showing the lighted battery gauge.

Or when charging finishes, all lights in this gauge go out.

The battery meter with all lights dark.

Now the blinking red lamp may not change to white when you connect the charger. If it doesn’t then several problems might cause this. We list these below thus.

1.The Power Outlet May Not Be Live

The Problem

The adapter 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 or tripped circuit breaker. Also a blown fuse, faulty wiring, or general power failure, could be to blame.

The Fix

Check that your outlet has electricity 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 flip that switch to the ON position.

2. The Power Supply is Not Working

The Problem

The red light continues blinking perhaps because the adapter provides SOME but not ENOUGH current. Its output can fall over time. So it might not deliver the correct amount presently. Note that this speaker needs 2.3 amps at 5 volts (11.5 watts) to fully recharge in the spec time.

The Fix

Replace the adapter. Get one that delivers at least that 5 volts at 2.4 amps (12 watts).

3. JBL Charge 4 Blinking Red Light: The Battery is Defective

The Problem

As lithium ion batteries age, they lose their ability to recharge fully. And the characteristics of the current they draw changes. Normally as a battery recharges, it draws less current over time. But in the case of battery failure, it may draw the wrong amperage. This can confuse the charging circuits. So they might behave like no charging is occurring. Thus the red lamp keeps blinking.

The Fix

To fix this, replace the battery. But keep in mind that you can’t easily get to it in the Charge 4. Indeed, changing the battery means that you must teardown the speaker.

But note that doing this likely breaks the water resistant seal. Thus the speaker will no longer be safe to use, if you get water on it.

Breaking this seal may also change the sound quality too. So get someone to replace the battery who knows how to pick the right replacement. They should also be able to restore the seal to as it was, as they reassemble the speaker. A good battery should fit well inside.

5. The Speaker Might be Defective

The Problem

Even with the correct power supply, the current reaching the battery may be too low or high. This can happen when the battery management circuits fail. Note that these systems read the battery status. The they shut off the charging current when they deem the battery full.

But when they fail, the battery might get no power at all. Thus, it never recharges. Again, in this case, the red light might never stop blinking, even with the charger attached. You may also see 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 Fix

The best solution here, is simply to get a new speaker. Why? Because the circuits in this model are quite small. So unless you can replace the system board(s), just buy another speaker to save much aggravation.