Most Sony Bluetooth speakers, including the XP500, offer truly portable operation via their lithium ion batteries inside. And when said battery dies, you can recharge the speaker with an appropriate AC or car converter. Sometimes though, you may notice that the Sony SRS XP500 is not charging fully, or at all, even when you connect its AC cable to power, and then to the speaker. To solve this, we offer information here to help.
Sony SRS XP500 Not Charging: How to Tell This
Read the CHARGE Lamp
Among the ways you can tell that the XP 500 is not charging, is by reading the orange battery charge status lamp on the top of the speaker, just under the Power button. Now this light is normally dark, but starts flashing orange during play, when the battery is short of power.
But there’s an issue if this flashing keeps up, even when you attach the AC charging cable. Why? Because the lamp should change at this point though, to solid orange. Then, when the light stops flashing, this means that the speaker is getting some power. But if the orange blinking continues, then correct recharging is likely not happening.
Moreover, the status light shows battery charging status while recharging. I.e. As long as charging continues, this lamp also continues glowing solid orange. And this light goes out when charging ends. But if that CHARGE lamp keeps glowing after several hours of recharging, and does not go dark, then chances are, charging is not going well.
Feel the Heat
You can also feel the speaker’s rear button panel twenty minutes after plugging it into the speaker. At that time, it should feel warm. But if you detect no warmth, then again, the Sony SRS XP500 is probably not charging.
Thus when you realize that the speaker is not recharging as it should be, you’ll want to deduce what’s wrong and how to fix this problem. So in this post, we offer reasons why the Sony SRS XP500 speaker may not charge when connected to power. Then we give possible fixes for this seen-often problem.
Hear the Hum
During proper charging, the speaker hums quietly. You can hear this by pressing your ear to the side panels or back of the unit. Further, this hum stops when charging completes. Thus if you hear no hum, when all else around the speaker is quiet, then charging is likely not happening.
Sony SRS XP500 Not Charging: Reasons and Fixes
As we stated above, it’s normal that the CHARGE lamp slowly pulses orange when the battery inside is nearly dead. But again, the light should switch to a solid orange shine when you connect the speaker to the charger, and the charger to a working power outlet.
Or, once recharging finishes, this light goes dark. See this in the next picture.
If the light does not change to a continuous orange glow when you plug the charger into the speaker, then several things might cause this. We list these below thus.
1.The Power Outlet May Not Be Energized
The Problem
The AC power cord may not output any current because it is not receiving any power to start with. This can happen due to a defective circuit, tripped breaker, blown fuse, faulty wiring, power failure, and similar issues.
The Fix
Check that your outlet has voltage by plugging in a lamp or other device. Then, reset circuit breakers if tripped, and if the outlet has a light switch that controls it, then be certain that that switch is in the ON position. Or, simply try a different outlet.
2. The AC Cable is Broken
The Problem
The Sony SRS XP500 not charging can also happen because the power cable is not delivering any juice to the speaker.
Now as AC cords age, the thin strands of wire inside may fray over time. So the cord may stop working if it is used heavily or is very old. So this would show up with the speaker’s CHARGE lamp never lighting solid.
The Fix
The solution is to replace the power cord. Sony provides such cord for the 500, and so, you can order a replacement from them. Or pick one up at Amazon or on eBay. Please note that a replacement cheater cable should be able to handle at least 100 watts to avoid overheating.
3. The Battery in the XP500 is Defective
The Problem
As lithium ion batteries age, they lose their ability to fully recharge, and the characteristics of the charging current they draw, changes as they get older. Normally, as a battery recharges, it draws less and less current from the charger as it fills. But in the case of cells aging out, it may draw too many or too few amps, thus confusing the speaker’s charging circuits into behaving like no charging is occurring. So the CHARGE lamp shows that charging is not happening correctly, either by never stopping its solid orange glow, or never turning on when you connect the charger 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 500. Indeed, changing the battery means that you must take the speaker apart, and this, to be certain, is an intricate pursuit.
Also note that doing this likely breaks the moisture seal. So the SRS XP500 will no longer be safe to use, should you expose it to water afterwards.
Also, breaking this seal may alter the sound quality too. So get someone to replace the battery who knows how to pick the right replacement battery. 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. But we suggest using only Sony certified batteries specifically designed for this speaker.
4. The Speaker Might be Broken when the Sony SRS XP500 Is Not Charging
The Problem
Even if you have the proper power cable with a working battery in the speaker, the charge current that actually gets to the battery may be too low or too high. This can happen when the battery management circuits inside the XP500 go amiss. Note that these systems read the battery status, and switch off the charging current when they deem the battery full.
But when they go bonkers, the battery might see no power at all though the power supply itself is okay. Thus, the speaker never charges. Again, in this case, the CHARGE lamp might never stop blinking, even with the charger connected. You may also see that the speaker doesn’t play as long before going dead, if at all, until you connect the cord. Or it might not play at all, even during charging.
The Fix
The best answer here, is to just get a new SRS XP500 speaker. Why? Because the electronics in this unit are quite small. So unless you are comfortable working around lethal voltages and can replace the system board(s) yourself, or know someone who can, just buy another speaker to save a bunch of mental stress. Now we understand that buying a new one of these is likely costly. So in this case, it might be worth the trouble to fix the speaker if you can.
But of course, the stakes are higher with this particular unit due to its cost. Indeed the more costly the speaker, the more you’ll lose if you accidently break something. Adding new problems to the unit, also decreases the likelihood that you, or anyone else for that matter, will be able to repair it.
Other Posts About Sony SRS XP500
Related Posts to Sony SRS XP500 Not Charging
References for Sony SRS XP500 Not Charging
Revision History
-
- 2022-12-01: First posted.