Sure glad I didn't need that fire extinguisher I didn't buy last week.
 

First I noticed that my high beams were stuck on high. Then seconds later– ohmygoshsmoke !!!

After I shut of the ignition, turned of the lights, cursed myself for not buying a fire extinguisher while I was in the speed shop last week, and got ready to disconnect the battery, I checked fuses and relays. Nothing seemed hot or out of place, and the light switch didn’t seem hot either.

Who’s been there done that already and wants to give me the first trouble shooting steps.

Thanks in advance!

Smoke from where?

The high-low beam & turn signal switch (left side of steering column) often goes bad. I guess I would take a look at that. Not too hard to replace, just kind of fiddly.

Being night, I couldn't see the smoke, only smell it :)

Ah, yes, that would follow.

You can get access to that switch easily by removing the steering wheel and the steering column cover - the "101 Projects" book describes it and maybe there's a tech article on Pelican too. Should be able to see if that's what melted / burned.

The fiddly part is unplugging the old switch's wiring harness under the dash and plugging in the new harness. At least I had a hard time getting my fingers to fit.

Yikes!
Yep, all of the current (for the lights) runs through the turn signal/hi-beam switch. Apparently, the contacts wear & fail to carry the needed current.

This is why relay kits were brought to market for our 911s. (read: cheap fix so that the worn stock contacts dont need to carry all the current)

Yeah, that's probably it. Glen, I'm leaving for Chicago tomorrow morning and won't be back until late Friday night, so it looks like I won't be doing AutoX after all.

Jamie79SC,

My High/Low/Turn signal stalk went bad a couple of weeks after I bought my car. I asked all the good members on this board and got some good info. You'll need to do a search on "high beams" & "Sucro relay" as there is alot of info for you to read. The biggest problem is the high / low stalk receives full power from the battery to fire up the lights, there for a relay before the power goes to the high / low stalk.

Has something similar in my '67. Puff of smoke, then nothing? Found the culprit months later - one of my dash lights came out and must have grounded somewhere. Burnt the insulation clean off!

When you drive a 24 years old car, buy a fire extinguisher. You will need it to save your life or someone else's life.