Just started happening about a week ago, so far ive replaced the 8 year old battery and the headlight multifunction switch in the dash with no change
Kind of a 2 part problem

1. constant dinging....like when the check engine or fuel light comes on, one ding every few seconds..
2. when driving at night all the dash lights, headlights and taillights all turn off for a second them come back on and you can hear a relay clicking that i think is the parking lamp relay

ive gone under the dash and wiggled every wire with no effect so i dont think its a short...

 

It's unlikely to be a short.
More likely it is a bad ground. The CTM controls your lights. Follow the connectors down from the CTM and you should find a ground lug. Make sure it is clean and tight.

 

Checked all the grounds i could find and they all appear to be solid...kinda stumped...i guess worst case scenario is the CTM/BCM took a dump? the dinging is definitely coming from it.

 

relay/ fuses under hood
relay inside left door/ dash ? .. may be grey cube shape

 

I dont think its any relays, ive gone through and swapped them out with good known working ones and the dash, head and taillights still flick on and off at random even while just idling in my driveway...

 

I'm still thinking a bad ground. The headlight switch and CTM use the same grounds, G208 and the CTM also uses G207. I attached a pic to help you find them.
It could be the CTM. Weird it just started after battery replacement.

Maybe power cycle the truck. Disconnect the battery and let it sit for a while, then reconnect.

 

Had some time to mess with the truck today and noticed something i didnt before

Even with the headlights switched OFF the headlights flicker like strobes....

I checked all the grounds i could find and they were all clean and secure...

 

That's definitely going to be a CTM issue. My guess is that you've surpassed bad grounds and possibly in replacement module land.

 

Ran over to Pick-n-Pull on my lunch today and grabbed the bcm out of the only dakota on the lot, got home and plugged it and everything is back to normal! case closed.

 

Cool. Thanks for the follow up.