Narrative:

Night cruise at FL370 with thunderstorm avoidance en route to [destination]. Master caution with 'IRS' on annunciator. There were no supporting indications of failure mode on aft overhead panel. No indications of platform failure/attitude failure when control instruments were compared. IRS annunciator went out with mc press. After comparing control instruments; I looked up at the overhead panel and discovered most caution/warning lights illuminated. All lights on the flight control panel were on (although hydraulic a & B were normal pressure; pressurization panel had all character segments flashing as if in a test mode; bottom row of engine and wing anti-ice lights were on (can't recall exactly if they were dim or bright); green APU squib light was on and bottle empty lights forward of squib lights may have been on; all pitot static lights were on; window heat lights were all off.first officer (pilot flying) assisted in crosschecks of instruments and mentioned noticing a faint electrical odor. My initial concern was losing cabin pressure; probably because that panel was flashing the most impressively. Both pilots at this point un-stowed our O2 masks in a ready manner. We were negotiating a weather avoidance route to the south along a southwest to northeast line of thunderstorms during this time. I felt in need of assistance and called maintenance to request they call dispatch and have them call us. When dispatch called; I requested a conference patch to maintenance. When everyone was on; I relayed our indications. During this time; I also discovered a popped circuit breaker on the P6-2 panel labeled; zone 5; under annunciations.with so many unrelated; yet each in and of itself; serious systems failure indications; I asked for suggestions. Maintenance checked aircraft history; found none of an electrical or circuit breaker problem and said it should be all right to reset the circuit breaker. Within 30 seconds of resetting the circuit breaker; we smelled increased electrical fumes; donned our masks; and performed the boxed items for smoke/fumes. I told the first officer that we would be definitely diverting to [a nearby airport]. I left the ATC frequency (and intercom) to tell the flight attendants the situation and made a quick PA to the customers informing them of our intention to divert. By the time I was back on ATC and intercom; the first officer had declared an emergency; obtained clearance to [divert airport] and initiated a rapid descent. We got around the line of thunderstorms to the east and would make it in VMC. We landed uneventfully.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-300 flight crew experienced electrical malfunction that included multiple flashing lights and electrical smoke. Crew declared an emergency and diverted to a suitable airport.

Narrative: Night cruise at FL370 with thunderstorm avoidance en route to [destination]. Master Caution with 'IRS' on annunciator. There were no supporting indications of failure mode on aft overhead panel. No indications of platform failure/attitude failure when control instruments were compared. IRS annunciator went out with MC press. After comparing control instruments; I looked up at the overhead panel and discovered most Caution/Warning lights illuminated. All lights on the flight control panel were on (although hydraulic A & B were normal pressure; pressurization panel had all character segments flashing as if in a test mode; bottom row of Engine and Wing Anti-Ice lights were on (can't recall exactly if they were dim or bright); Green APU Squib light was on and Bottle Empty lights forward of Squib lights may have been on; All pitot static lights were on; Window Heat lights were all off.First Officer (pilot flying) assisted in crosschecks of instruments and mentioned noticing a faint electrical odor. My initial concern was losing cabin pressure; probably because that panel was flashing the most impressively. Both pilots at this point un-stowed our O2 masks in a ready manner. We were negotiating a weather avoidance route to the south along a southwest to northeast line of thunderstorms during this time. I felt in need of assistance and called Maintenance to request they call Dispatch and have them call us. When Dispatch called; I requested a conference patch to Maintenance. When everyone was on; I relayed our indications. During this time; I also discovered a popped circuit breaker on the P6-2 panel labeled; Zone 5; under Annunciations.With so many unrelated; yet each in and of itself; serious systems failure indications; I asked for suggestions. Maintenance checked aircraft history; found none of an electrical or circuit breaker problem and said it should be all right to reset the circuit breaker. Within 30 seconds of resetting the circuit breaker; we smelled increased electrical fumes; donned our masks; and performed the boxed items for smoke/fumes. I told the First Officer that we would be definitely diverting to [a nearby airport]. I left the ATC frequency (and intercom) to tell the flight attendants the situation and made a quick PA to the customers informing them of our intention to divert. By the time I was back on ATC and intercom; the First Officer had declared an emergency; obtained clearance to [divert airport] and initiated a rapid descent. We got around the line of thunderstorms to the east and would make it in VMC. We landed uneventfully.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.