[jerrymander]

Batteries are rarely, if ever, fully charged when purchased new. Both batteries were likely in a weakened state when installed, with maybe enough charge for a few starts. Each restart weakened them further, especially if they were short trips. Then sitting without use drained whatever charge was left.

If most of your drives are relatively short, or the vehicle will sit unused for a week or two, you're best bet is to purchase a battery tender. Use it every couple of weeks to maintain a charge. Make sure, though, to purchase a tender that is compatible with your battery type. The two most common types are lead acid (old school) and AGM (newer technology). From what I've seen, most AGM compatible tenders are backward compatible with lead acid. If you use a lead acid only tender with an AGM battery, really bad things can happen. The "poor man's" charger is to take the vehicle on a non-stop (ie. open highway) trip for 15-30 minutes without stops every couple of weeks.

The assortment of lights that seem to be for no attributable reason are an indication of battery that is not sufficiently charged.