Many JBL speakers, including the Xtreme 2, have a red light blinking when the battery is almost dead. We find this lamp in the battery gauge on the front of the speaker’s base. Sometimes though, this light blinks for long periods as you play the speaker. E.g. It starts flashing and does not stop, even when you connect a charger. This is a problem. Thus in this post, we offer reasons why this happens. Then we give possible fixes.
JBL Xtreme 2 Red Light Blinking, 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.
Normally though, this gauge only shows white lights. The number that glow tells you how full the battery is. It can appear as follows.
Or, once recharging finishes, all lights in this gauge go out if the speaker is OFF.
Noe the red lamp in this meter may not change to white when you connect the charger. If that happens, then one or more causes may be to blame. We list these below thus.
1.The Power Outlet May Not Be Live
The Problem
The power adapter for the JBL Xtreme 2 may not work because it is getting no power to begin with. This can happen due to a defective AC or car circuit or tripped circuit breaker. Other causes are a 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 OFF. Plus if the outlet has a light switch that controls it, then flip that switch ON.
2. Power Supply is Not Working Well
The Problem
The JBL Xtreme 2 red light continues blinking perhaps because the adapter you’re using provides SOME but not ENOUGH current. Its output energy can fall over time as well. So it might not deliver the correct amount presently. So you may see this behavior in older adapters. Note that this speaker needs 3 amps at 19 volts to recharge in the 3.5 hours spec time.
The Fix
Replace the adapter with one that delivers 19 volts at 3 amps (57 watts). We recommend ordering a replacement directly from JBL for fastest yet safest charging.
3. The Battery in the Xtreme 2 is Bad
The Problem
As lithium ion batteries age, they lose their ability to fully recharge. And the characteristics of the current they draw changes as they age. Normally, as a battery recharges, it draws less and less current as it fills. But in the case of battery failure, it may draw too much or too little amperage. And this can confuse the charging circuits into behaving like no charging is occurring. So, the red lamp stays on.
The Fix
To fix this, replace the battery. But keep in mind that you can’t easily get to it in the JBL Xtreme 2. Indeed, changing the battery means that you must take the speaker apart.
But note that doing this likely breaks the water resistant seal. Thus the speaker will no longer be safe to use, should you get water on i.
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 and provide 3.6 volts and at least 10,000 mAh (36 watt-hours). But we suggest using only JBL certified batteries for this speaker.
4. The Speaker Might be Defective when the JBL Xtreme 2 Red Light is Blinking
The Problem
Even if you have the correct power supply, the charging current still may be too low or too high. This can happen when the battery management circuits inside the Xtreme 2 fail. Note that these systems read the battery status. And they shut off the charging current when they deem the battery to be 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 connected. 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 JBL Xtreme 2. Why? Because the circuits in this model are quite small. So unless you can replace the system board(s) yourself, just buy another speaker. Believe us, you’ll save yourself a lot of aggravation.