How to Replace the Charge Port on a JBL Charge 3 Wireless Speaker
If you find that your JBL Charge 3 will only charge when you hold the cord in a specific spot and you have tried other cords, your charge port is likely the issue. We sell New Replacement Charge Ports for this speaker and this guide shows you how to install them.
If you would prefer to read a written repair guide, check that out below. Or if the tool cost seems prohibitive for a one time repair and you would prefer that we complete this repair for you, check out our Repair Catalog to see if we offer repair services for this device.
Are you a business? We offer wholesale discounts on our repair services if you are sending numerous units in for repair or want to send us continuing batches of devices for repair on a regular basis. Contact our support team for more info Info@JoesGE.com (This email is only for wholesale inquiries, please contact Support@JoesGE.com for other inquiries).
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Repair Difficulty: Difficult
Time to complete: 90 minutes
The tools and parts that you will need for this repair:
- A New Replacement Charge Port
- Strong Pry Tool (The dull edge of a butterknife will work)
- A fine tip soldering iron (around 15 watts is good for small electronics and would be cheaper than purchasing a temperature variable unit).
- Solder Flux (To ensure clean solder joints)
- Heat Gun (A hairdryer normally would work but in this case, you need a heat gun with a more fine tip and temperature control)
- A standard Phillips screwdriver
- A Small Flat Edge Screwdriver
- Some Precision Tweezers
***Optional if you want to give the best contact for the new charger port.
- Solder wick (to remove all of the old solder)
- Rubbing alcohol (to clean the contact pads on the circuit board after removing the solder)
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1. Remove the fabric covering
Insert your pry tool into the seam of the fabric covering on the bottom of the speaker and pry up the side that is facing to the back of the speaker.
Unscrew the two screws that you just uncovered by prying up the fabric cover.
Remove the fabric covering from the speaker by gently pulling it up and away from the plastic body of the speaker. It is only held on with some snap connectors so there is no need to worry if you hear some small pops as you remove it.
2. Remove the rubber base
The bottom of the speaker is a flat rubber stand so that the speaker does not roll around. There are six screws holding that rubber stand in place, remove all four.
Now, remove the screws from the battery housing that you just uncovered. There are seven screws holding it in place.
3. Remove the charge port assembly
Removing the battery cover will provide you with access to the two screws that are left holding the charger port assembly in place, remove those screws.
Now unplug the two plugs that hold the charger port's circuit board into place. They should pull straight out from the circuit board. After you have unplugged them, you can remove the whole assembly from the speaker.
Remove the 3 screws that hold the circuit board into its plastic housing.
Remove the circuit board from the housing by pulling it away from the housing and out of the housing at the same time.
4. Removing the old charge port
Put the circuit board in a vice if you have one or place it on a surface that will not melt or burn when you heat up the charge port. Then, grab the charge port with your tweezers and begin moving the hot air around it. Make sure to keep the hot air away from other components on the circuit board as much as possible.
After 10-15 seconds of heat, you should be able to pull the charge port out of the circuit board.
Check the small. contacts on the circuit board to ensure that they are not bridged with solder.
If the contacts are bridged, you can either clean them up with a fine tip soldering iron, or you can use solder wick and flux to remove all of the old solder so that the new charge port can be easily placed on the board.
5. Installing the new charge port
Push the metal anchor studs of the new charge port through the holes on the circuit board so that it is lined up properly. If the anchor studs won't fit through the holes due to solder, you may need to use some solder wick to remove the old solder or heat it up with your soldering iron.
Apply solder flux to the studs of the charge port.
Apply fresh solder to all six of the anchor points on the bottom of the circuit board to secure the new port into place.
Solder all of the tiny contacts on the back of the charge port down onto the circuit board. Make sure that the contacts or solder are not bridged to other contacts and ensure that each contact wire is firmly attached to the circuit board using your Small Flat Edge Screwdriver.
6. Reinserting the charger port assembly
Slide the charge port circuit board into its housing.
Reinsert the 3 screws back into the charge port assembly.
Reconnect both of the wire plugs to the circuit board.
Secure the six screws that hold the charge port assembly into there places.
7. Reassembling the speaker
Secure the battery cover onto the speaker.
Secure the rubber base into its place with the two screws facing the front of the speaker.
Now, put the cloth cover back on to the speaker making sure to align the two pins that are on the inside of the logo with their slots in the speaker.
Lastly, insert the final two screws to secure the cloth cover into place and make sure that the cloth cover is clipped into place securely all around by applying some light pressure to it.
