I understand this problem has been solved with a new battery. Worth bearing in mind new ones are transported dry charged without the acidic electrolyte for obvious reasons. Adding fresh electrolyte at full concentration and waiting an hour or so should leave them close to a full charge but far better to be patient and then fully charge them before use though.
Following on from above a new battery will start ageing as soon as electrolyte is added so beware of any that may have been on the suppliers shelf for some time in this state. A check on date of manufacture may help. We never added electrolyte until POS for counter sales back in the day.
