Whats wrong with my solar lights?

Question

my solar lights get 8 hrs of sun a day. but they only stay on for a few hrs at night. I've recharged the batteries but they still don't stay on for long.

Answer 1

You need higher capacity batteries

Answer 2

This may be all they are designed to do.

Check your manufacturer's data or the data plate on a unit, if it has one, to see how long you can expect it to last.

Your batteries may be getting old.  Rechargeable batteries develop a "charge memory" which gets slightly smaller each time the battery is charged.  Some batteries "wear out" faster if not fully discharged before recharging, while others do just the opposite.

Try cleaning your solar panels gently with a moist cloth or really mild detergent.  Transparent plastics and some glass tend to loose some of their transparency as they age.  Dust gets on everything, interfering with the energy absorption.

Lastly, make sure you don't run more lights than the solar cells can handle if it is a system design, and perhaps reduce the number or wattage of lights you are using.  Of course, this won't be possible if each lamp has it's own solar cells.