Electrical problem...Blinkin' lights

[offcenter]

Hey guys, ...on my '99 1500 SE,
Recently the lower cowl lights and the overdrive dash light would go
out and then come back on a while later.
Could this be a relay going bad?
Which one?
Or is something loose?
I want to fix this, but I need to know where to start looking.
How are the cowl lights and the overdrive light related?

There is nothing more annoying than an intermittent electrical problem.

[offcenter]

Anyone? Anybody have a clue as to what I should be looking for?
Please?

[bellboy40]

You might try swapping out the #3 tail main relay with another one, maybe the air pump or headlight relay.
Edit: On second thought, don't use a headlight relay. You don't want them going out. Use the air pump relay to test it.

[WingAdmin]

Hey guys, ...on my '99 1500 SE,
Recently the lower cowl lights and the overdrive dash light would go
out and then come back on a while later.
Could this be a relay going bad?
Which one?
Or is something loose?
I want to fix this, but I need to know where to start looking.
How are the cowl lights and the overdrive light related?

There is nothing more annoying than an intermittent electrical problem.

Have a look at the circuits:

Overdrive light circuit

Cornering light circuit

Both circuits use fuse 8 and relay 3 for their power source, so there's an obvious common factor. My first test would be to replace relay 3 and see if it solves the issue.

[newday777]

I delt with this a couple weeks ago on a 99 I worked on. You probably have a bad ground pin burnt in one of your connectors.
Does your bike have a multitude of added lights? Especially if they are on with the key all the time. The extra load those added lights tax the small ground wires in the harness.
Check each of your connectors for burnt pins in the ground legs. I jumpered around the burnt pins and put in LED bulbs in all the lights to lighten the load on the system.

This one was under the seat, left side.

[offcenter]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys.
I've ordered new relays. They should be here next week.
Meanwhile, I'll take a look at the plug grounds as suggested
by Newday777.
No, the bike doesn't have any added tail lights, just the factory
stuff. But it did have those darned high voltage lights in the
saddlebag doors which of course were so dim that you couldn't
see them. I just now went under the right rear and disconnected
the power supply that fed those to lighten the load.
Changing all the rear lights to LEDs is on my "to do" list.
The front of the bike has already been done. But there
are an awful lot of incandescent bulbs on the rear and on
the trunk running off of that one relay.
It's time to do unto it before it does unto me.

[newday777]

OK. Those high voltage lights in the saddlebag were Honda accessories to replace the stock reflectors that the 1500s came from the factory with.
Just for a FYI
Here is a picture of what the stock lights were on the 1500s.
4 in the rear center of the trunk with 3 in each side of the trunk.
And one 1157 in each rear facing saddlebag lights.

[offcenter]

Yep, that's what mine looks like.
I should have the new relays soon.
I'll report back on what happens with
the new relay installed.