Battery Equalization Question

[David and Teresa]

Well, this is my first official post asking for help. My house batteries don't seem to be holding a charge for very long. I checked fluid levels this morning, added distilled water in a few cells, checked all the connections. I found a loose connection on one cable. After everything was checked and tightened, I started the Equalization. The yellow 'bulk' lights started flashing, just as the manual said. After a few minutes the system switched back to Auto, as it should when equalization is complete. This should take an hour or two, right? What am I doing wrong?

I'm running 6 Exide 8D house batteries with 2 Trace inverters.

David