Your battery is probably shot, because your indicator lites are not working, a bad connection, or whatever.
The proper way to test a typical 12VDC car type battery is to wear safety protection like heavy vinyl gloves, face shield, etc. & make sure it has
proper level of electrolyte, then
charge it for at least an half hour, at around 10-20 amp. rate... battery temperature is best tested around
70 F. You can try charging for an full hour, but usually 1/2 hour at that rate
should be
enough.
Remove charger from battery.
Then with a
working DC voltage meter connect the positive lead of the meter to the positive terminal of the battery, & connect the negative lead of the meter to the negative terminal of the battery. Read the static voltage while the battery is at rest, it should measure
at least 12VDC.
If the battery has been charged, and it measures at least 12VDC, then you need to do a load test.
A simple load test is to connect the battery to a load (such as a car with a dead battery) and try to start the car while watching the voltage meter. As you attempt to crank the starter on the car, the battery voltage will quickly drop, but it should not go
below 10.5VDC while cranking.
If your battery fails to measure at least 12VDC while static, or drops below 10.5VDC while loaded, then consider the battery shot.
Or you could just take it to where ever you normally buy batteries and they may have an actual 'load testing tool' to properly test it for you.
I would
not recommend upside down shaking or gravity of the internal sediment, because battery acid is highly corrosive and most batteries will leak from the vents, which leaking electrolyte (acid) could become very dangerous very quickly. And even tho the sediment contributes a great deal to the poor condition of a battery, worn, broken, or warped internal plates also will render a battery useless, this is what the static & load tests check for.
I bought a battery just a month ago for my car...
'the new abnormal' price is $100 bucks.
james beam