Many Sony speakers, including the Sony SRS XP500 karaoke speaker, have a blinking orange light that tells you when its internal battery needs charging. Sometimes though, this flashing happens even though you’ve just fully recharged the unit, when it should not blink, assuming the battery recharged correctly. Thus in this piece, we offer reasons that this happens and possible fixes for this common problem.
Sony SRS XP500 Blinking Orange Light: Causes and Answers
It’s normal that the CHARGE light blinks orange when the battery is almost entirely exhausted. This warns that the speaker has little play left before it goes dead, and that you should charge the unit for continued play. But when the battery is not close to dying, this lamp should be OFF. Thus under normal circumstances, this light will be dark, whether the speaker is running or not, and you are not charging the unit.
But if the orange light continues flashing, even after a full recharge, then a few things might cause this. We detail these causes below.
Finally, this lamp may also blink orange three times when you press the Power button, but the speaker does not boot. In fact, after the three flashes, it turns off again. This means that the battery is completely empty and further use of the speaker will not be possible until you recharge it.
1. Your Charger Cable May Not Have Power
The Problem
The AC cord you’re using may not deliver any energy because it is not receiving any to start with. This can happen due to a broken AC circuit, tripped circuit breaker, blown fuse, faulty wiring, power failure, Etc. This would be most obvious when, though you connect the speaker to power, this lamp does not light up solid orange or continues blinking orange.
The Fix
Check that your outlet has power by testing it by plugging in a lamp or other device to it, to see if it works. Reset tripped circuit breakers, and if the outlet has a light switch that controls it, then be sure that that switch is in the ON position.
2. Your Charger Cable is Defective
The Problem
The Sony SRS XP500 orange light may blink, perhaps, because the charger cord you have provides SOME but not ENOUGH energy. Or, its output power has dropped over time. The speaker requires 76 watts from the power outlet to fully recharge in the shortest time.
The Fix
The solution here is to replace the power cord. Be sure to get one that matches the voltage and current requirements, and can deliver at least 100 watts of power. Furthermore, be sure to get a well-known brand of cord for reliability. The speaker is getting adequate charging current when the lamp glows steady orange and does not blink during recharging.
3. The AC Power Cord is Either Too Long or Too Thin or Coroded
The Problem
The AC cable included with the speaker can excessively limit the charging current the speaker receives. This might happen with excessively long, thin, or corroded cables.
The Fix
To solve this, use as short a cord as practical. Or, switch to a thicker, higher current handling cable. For corroded cables, clean all metal connector prongs and blades. We further suggest keeping cord lengths to six feet or shorter. When the light glows solid orange, this means that the speaker is getting at least the minimal amount of charging current it needs to recharge.
4. The Speaker’s Battery Might Be Bad
The Problem
As lithium ion polymer batteries age, their performance drops. That is, their ability to fully recharge in the specified time decreases, and the characteristics of the charging current they draw changes also. So you may notice that the orange light begins blinking after a shorter than usual time since the last recharge. Or, it may flash as soon as you disconnect the power from the speaker. This can mean that the battery is not accepting enough charge to register in the battery management circuits as no longer near empty.
The Fix
To solve this, replace the battery, although you can’t easily get to it in the XP500. Note that the job of replacing the battery means that you must first dismantle this speaker. Furthermore, taking it apart likely breaks the waterproof seal so that it no longer resists damage if you get water on it. Plus, defeating this seal could also negatively impact how the speaker sounds. So battery replacement should be done by someone who can get the right battery, and is able to restore the seal as they reassemble the speaker.
5. The Speaker Might be Defective when you See the Sony SRS XP500 Orange Light Blinking Too Often
The Problem
Even if you have a large enough power supply and cable with a working battery, the charging current that actually reaches the speaker may be too high or too low. The can happen when the battery management electronics inside the XP 500 fail. These systems monitor the battery and shut off the charging current when they deem the battery as fully recharged. But when they develop defects, the battery might get no charging current at all, and thus never recharge. Again, in this case, the orange light might never stop blinking while the charger is connected. You would also notice the speaker not playing as long before going dead. Or it might not play at all except when you have the adapter connected.
The Fix
The most effective solution here, is to simply replace the 500. Why? Because the circuits in this model are rather small. So unless you can confidently acquire and swap the system board(s), just buy another speaker to save yourself the headaches of doing this work on your own.
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Revision History
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- 2023-01-13: First posted.