Many speakers, including the JBL Clip 3 have a blinking red light on top when the battery is almost dead. Sometimes though, this red LED lamp flashes for long periods as you play the speaker. E.g. It begins pulsating during play and does not stop, even when you connect a charger. Thus in this post, we offer reasons that this red light blinking occurs on the Clip 3. Then we give possible fixes for this common problem.
JBL Clip 3 Red Light Blinking, Reasons and Fixes
It’s normal that the status light blinks red when the battery in this speaker is very low. But this lamp should begin glowing steady red when you connect the charger.
Normally though, this lamp glows or flashes white as follows.
Once recharging finishes, this status light goes dark.
Now the blinking red light may not change to steady red when you connect the charger. If not, then any of several troubles might cause this. We list these below thus.
1.The AC Outlet May Not Be Live
The Problem
The adapter may not deliver any power, because it is not getting any to begin with. This can happen due to a defective AC or car circuit or tripped circuit breaker. A blown fuse, faulty wiring, or general power failure, can also cause this as well.
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 ON.
2. Your Power Supply is Not Working Well
The Problem
The JBL Clip 3 red light continues blinking perhaps because the adapter provides SOME but not ENOUGH current. Its output energy can fall over time too. So it might not deliver the correct amount presently. Note that this speaker requires 600 milliamps at 5 volts (3 watts) fully recharge in the spec time.
The Fix
Replace the adapter. Get one that can deliver at least that 5 volts at 1 amps (5 watts) for fastest charging.
3. The Battery in the Clip 3 is Defective
The Problem
As lithium ion batteries age, they lose their ability to charge fully. And the characteristics of the current they draw changes as they get older. Normally, as a battery recharges, it draws less current as charging progresses. But in the case of battery failure, it may draw too much or too little amperage. So this can confuse the charging circuits. They may wrongly think that the battery is always dead. So, 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 Clip 3. Indeed, changing the battery means that you must tear down 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 when the JBL Clip 3 Red Light is Blinking
The Problem
Even if you have the correct power supply, the current reaching the battery may be too low or high. This can occur when the battery management circuits inside the unit fail. Note that these systems read the battery status. Then they shut off the charging current when they deem the battery full.
But when these circuits 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) yourself, just buy another Clip 3 to save much aggravation.