Dell battery lights flashing 4amber 1 green

I should try a new battery as if the laptop has been used on charge all of the time that will damage the battery.

here ya go

http://www.fixya.com/support/r3696096-dell_portable_battery_led_flashes_orange

The Solution of Windows XP Boot Black Screen

That is normal, to flash green during charging. Once charge is complete it should go solid green.

the battery has reached its expected life, you need to replace it. If it is under warranty, you can call dell and have them replace it. You can still use you laptop with the wall power/charger plugged in, remove the battery to get rid of the flashing red/green light.

Battery.

Dell has a chip internal to the battery programed to shut down after a certain number of charge cycles. This means every time you plug the laptop in with the battery installed. When it reaches this determined number the battery effectively shuts down, even though technically it's still good. There have been loads of complaints on the net toward Dell over this issue. I have myself experience this. Battery good one day, powered down, went home, powered up... only to receive the deadly flashing light. Only cure is to replace battery. Several hacks trying to get around this but they're all horrible. Bad Dell - bad, bad Dell!

I have had three different laptops, last one an XPS from DELL which did the same thing. Replacing the battery solved all three laptops. How old is the battery you have in there now?

Normally the battery light will rapidly flash orange if the battery is defective. It will alternate between orange and green if it is too hot to charge. Or it will either flash orange or be a steady orange if the battery is low or completely discharged. Based on this and the fact that you cannot get it to stay on for more than 7 seconds, I would have to say that you need to recharge the battery by plugging the laptop into an AC outlet. After all, it can't run without the juice.

The LED sequence indicates a failure in the battery. (Like one cell has low charge) As long as the overall battery output meets the minimum for system operation, the battery will work.

The average lifespan for a Portable battery is about 500 discharge/recharge cycles (1 to 2 years) anything after that is a bonus

Replace the battery, issue will go away

maybe..or it's deeply discharged..you may need to run the computer, sans the battery, then install battery while the computer is up, and then do a full recharge.