Many Sony speakers, including the Sony X 5, feature a blinking orange light that lets you know that the speaker battery needs charging. Sometimes though, this flashing happens even though you’ve just fully recharged the speaker, when it should not, assuming the battery has recharged correctly. So in this post thus, we offer reasons that this happens and possible fixes for this common problem.
Why Sony X 5 Blinking Orange Light Problem Causes
It’s normal that this orange light blinks when the battery is almost completely run down. This warns that the speaker has little play time left before it goes dead, and that you should charge the unit right way to get more play time. But when the battery is not close to dying, this lamp is normally dark. Thus under usual circumstances, this light should 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 couple things might cause this, and we detail those below.
1. Your Charger May Not Be Getting Any Power
The Problem
The auto or home adapter you’re using may not deliver any power because it is not receiving any in the first place. This can happen due to a broken AC or car circuit, tripped circuit breaker, blown fuse, faulty wiring, power failure, and the like. This would be most apparent when, though you connect the speaker to power, this lamp does not light up solid orange or continues blinking.
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 circuit breakers if tripped, 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 is Too Weak or Defective
The Problem
The Sony X 5 orange light may blink, perhaps, because the charging adapter you have provides SOME but not ENOUGH recharging energy. Or, its output power has fallen over time. The speaker requires 2.5 amps of charging current at 12.5 volts (31.25 watts) from the supply to fully recharge in the shortest time.
The Fix
The fix here is to replace the adapter. Be sure to get a well-known brand for reliability. In fact, Sony provided an adapter that came with the speaker. So ideally, you’d want to acquire one of these. Then, with a known-good charger, the speaker is getting sufficient charging current when the lamp glows steady orange and does not blink.
3. The Charging Cord is Too Long, Thin, or is Defective
The Problem
The cable can reduce the charging current even if your power supply is working correctly. This might happen with excessively long or thin cables. And this can happen when you’re using a charger other than the one Sony provides.
The Fix
To solve this, use as short a cord as is practical. Or, upgrade to a thicker, higher current handling adapter. We suggest keeping cable lengths to six feet or less. When the light glows solid orange, this means that the speaker is getting at least the minimal amount of charging current it needs to complete the charging.
4. The Speaker’s Battery Might Be Bad
The Problem
As lithium ion batteries age, they can spoil. That is, they lose their ability to fully recharge, and the characteristics of the charging current they draw changes as they get older. So you may notice that the orange light begins its blinking after a shorter than usual time since the last recharge. Or, it may flash as soon as you disconnect the charger. This can mean that the battery is not accepting enough of a charge to register in the battery management circuits as no longer near empty.
The Fix
To correct this, replace the battery, although you can’t easily get to it in the X 5. Note that replacing the battery demands that you dismantle the speaker. Also, taking apart the speaker likely breaks the waterproof seal so that the speaker no longer resists damage if you get water on it. Plus, destroying this seal could also negatively alter how the speaker sounds as well. So battery replacement should be done by someone who can pick the right battery, and is able to restore the seal as they reassemble the speaker. A good battery should fit inside and provide 7.4 volts and 25.16 watt-hours at least. But we suggest using only Sony approved replacement batteries for this speaker.
5. The Speaker Might be Defective when you See the Sony X 5 Blinking Orange Light 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 battery may be too high or too low. The can happen when the battery management electronics inside the X 5 fail. These circuits monitor the battery and shut off the charging current when they deem the battery as fully recharged. But when they malfunction, 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 best solution here, given the relatively low cost of the X 5. and the lengthy time since this model was manufactured, is simply to get a new speaker. The circuits in this unit are highly miniaturized. So unless you can replace the system board(s), just buy another speaker to save yourself the headaches of doing this work yourself.
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References
Revision History
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- 2023-04-30: First published.