5CHN3LL

Thanks, Ahsai. Yesterday, I sat in a 100+ degree hot car with the lights intentionally on (and presumably making something melt and try to catch on fire), but I was able to see precisely where the smoke's coming from; it's either the leftmost connector or there is a chafed wire in the dash right behind that connector.

With the info you provided and a really good idea of the physical location, I'm hopeful I'll be able to nail this down when I get back on Sunday.

Thanks for the ideas and comments; this one has been a grind, but I'm feeling pretty good about this one.

As an aside, my blinking stoplight module was not related, but I think it _was_ the cause of my few remaining (once every other month or less often) ABS/PSM warning lights.

I also noticed a pronounced increase in alternator noise on AM stations a few months ago, but there was no equipment change. I thought at the time I was just imagining it, but now I'm fully expecting to find a chafed wire harness with at least one wire grounding out.

DBJoe996

Just have some water handy to put out the fire

p.s. It has been a long while since I've had the headlights out, but the last time I did I noticed plenty of wire insulation gone. Really. A bunch of bare wires. Ummm...did not replace or repair but figured I would have to at some point in time. So apparently with the age our cars are getting, the wire insulation is breaking down. MOF 1Million79 to add to the list. And AM? Really? Does anybody listen to AM anymore? Nothing but religious and rabid local talk show hosts on medical issues.....

5CHN3LL

Thanks, Joe. I pulled the frunk liner a couple of days ago in preparation to disconnect the litronics, but I didn't specifically because the insulation is currently NOT all cracked, and I wanted to avoid d*cking with it if at all possible...

At this point I need to throttle back the whole "let's mess with everything" urges. Every connector I touch or wire I bend has the potential to need fixing, so I need to be a little less hamfisted...

DBJoe996

Yeah...from what I saw INSIDE the headlight...I don't even want to think about the places we don't normally go. Age is a strange thing. Beginning to wonder about my own age. Damn wiring...

Ahsai

May want to check the a/c ripple of your alternator for the increased AM noise. Could be some diodes going bad.

5CHN3LL

Turns out that one of the contacts in the side marker that initally got nailed by road debris was pushed down into the body of the connector and was shorting in a place that wasn't visible without taking a proper look at it. This short wasn't enough to blow a fuse...but plenty to make the instrument cluster smoke and not work right with the lights turned on.