Most JBL Bluetooth speakers, including the Clip 3, offer truly portable operation via their lithium ion batteries inside. And when said battery dies, you can recharge the speaker with an AC or car adapter. Sometimes though, the JBL Clip 3 is not charging fully, or at all. To solve that, we’re here to help.
How to Tell that the JBL Clip 3 is Not Charging
Among the ways you can tell that the Clip 3 is not charging, is by reading the battery status lamp. Find this on the top of the speaker. Now this light can change from white to pulsing red during play. This means that the battery is running low.
But there’s a problem if this flashing keeps going, even when you attach the charger. Why? Because the gauge should change at this point though, to solid red, when you apply charging power. When the light stops blinking red, this means that the speaker is getting some power from the adapter. But if it keeps blinking red, then correct recharging is likely not happening.
You can also feel the adapter’s side panel ten or fifteen minutes into the charge cycle. At that time, it should feel slightly warm. Note too that the speaker itself heats up a little as well during proper recharging. But if you detect no warmth, then again, the speaker is likely not charging.
Moreover, the status light normally shows battery recharging status. I.e. As long as charging continues, this lamp also continues glowing solid red. And, as mentioned, this light either changes to white or goes out when charging is done. But if that lamp remains red after several hours of recharging, then chances are, charging is not going well.
Thus when the speaker is not recharging, then figure out what’s wrong and how to fix the situation. So in this post, we offer reasons why the JBL Clip 3 may not charge. Then we give possible fixes.
JBL Clip 3 Not Charging, Reasons and Fixes
As we stated earlier, it’s normal that the power status lamp pulses red when the battery inside is about dead. But again, the light should switch to a solid red glow when you connect the charger.
Normally though, this lamp only glows or flashes white. It can look as follows.
Or, the speaker may be OFF when charging starts. Then you don’t turn it ON, then once recharging finishes, the status light goes dark. See this in the next picture.
Now the light may not change to steady red when you connect the charger. So several things might cause this, and we list these below.
1.The Power Outlet May Not Be Energized
The Problem
The power adapter may not output any juice because it is not receiving any to begin with. This can happen due to the following:
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- A faulty AC or car circuit.
- Tripped breaker or blown fuse.
- Defective wiring,
- Power failure, and the like.
The Fix
Check that your receptacle has power by plugging in a lamp or other device. Then, reset circuit breakers if tripped. Also, if the outlet has a light switch that controls it, then flip that switch ON. Or, simply try a different outlet.
2. The AC Adapter is Broken
The Problem
The JBL Clip 3 not charging can also happen because the adapter is providing SOME but not FULL amperage. The adapter, though receiving power from the outlet, may have weak output.
Now as adapters age, their output energy can fall over time. So this power supply might not deliver the correct amount if it is very old. Thus you may see the lamp turn solid red, but never turn back to white or never go dark. Note that this speaker needs 0.6 amps at 5 volts from the adapter for charging in 3 hours. However, charging will likely not go as fast if the charger delivers less than these values.
The Fix
The solution is to replace the adapter. Preferably get one one that has a USB-A plug and delivers the maximum 5 volts at 1 amp (5 watts). Most common USB power supplies meet these requirements. Even the very cheap ones.
3. The Battery in the Clip 3 is Faulty
The Problem
As lithium ion batteries age, they lose their ability to fully recharge. Then the characteristics of the charging current they draw, changes. Normally, as a battery charges, it draws less and less charge current as it fills. But in the case of cell failure, it may draw too many or too few amps. This can confuse the charging circuits. They may “think” that no charging is occurring. So the status lamp shows that charging is not happening. E.g. It either never stopping its solid red glow. Or it never turns solid red in the first place.
The Fix
To repair this, replace the battery. But realize that you can’t easily get the old one out of the Clip 3. Indeed, changing the battery means that you must take the speaker apart, and this is an intricate task.
Also note that doing this likely breaks the moisture seal. So the speaker will no longer be safe to use, should you expose it to water afterwards.
Breaking this seal may alter the sound quality as well. So get someone to replace the battery who knows how to pick the right replacement for the Clip 3. 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 the speaker and provide 3.7 volts and at least 1,000 mAh (3.7 watt-hours). But we suggest using only JBL certified batteries for this speaker.
4. The Speaker Might be Defective when the JBL Clip 3 Is Not Charging
The Problem
You may have the proper power supply, with a working speaker battery. Yet the charging current that reaches the battery may be too low or too high. This can occur when the battery management circuits inside the Clip 3 fail. Note that these systems read the battery status, and switch off the charging current when they deem the battery full.
But when they go haywire, the battery might see no power at all though the charger itself is fine. Thus, the speaker never charges. Again, in this case, the status lamp might never stop blinking, even with the charger connected. You may also see that the speaker doesn’t play as long before dying, until you connect the charger. Or it might not play at all.
The Fix
The best answer here, is simply to get a new JBL Clip 3. Why? Because the electronics in this unit are quite small. So unless you can replace the system board(s) yourself, just buy another speaker to save aggravation.