mine work great all the time and for an unexpectedly long time. You just got an old, dried up set. I wonder if there is a use by date, or mfg date, etc. Try e-mailing the company, I'll bet the mfg date is buried in a number somewhere that they know and you can't read. Either way, they probably will want to know where you bought them (who is not rotating stock) and replace them or give you a coupon to replace them.