Smoking headlight switch

Hello,
I am new here, I have an 89 Cherokee Laredo, bone stock. Last night while driving my headlight switch started smoking. I shut off the lights, and it stopped but thought that the fuse would have blown if there had been a short. Some one told me it could be a stuck relay, but not knowing the system all that well, I figured if anyone else had a few ideas. The switch works, dimmer, park and lights. WIith no problem, it just get very hot.

Thanks,
homchz
Josh

The switch is dying man. Just head to any auto parts store and you can get a new one cheap (under $20). It's kinda a pain to replace, what you do is this:

Leave the lights off for awhile to let it cool down!
Reach behind the dash board to the headlght assy (you can feel it back there). There is a button on it that you push down and then pull the headlight knob completely out. Take a look at the new switch to get a look at where the button lies.
Using a large regular screwdriver remove the nut-type-thing that holds the headlight swtich in (yes, that's a techincal term) from the dashboard.
Slide the headlight switch toward the front of the vehicle and out from the dashboard.
Remove the wiring.
Put the new one on, wire it up first, slap it in, screw it on, and slam the headlight knob in.

It really, really helps to have small hands for this job! (I don't)

Sequoia

Thanks man that helps a lot. I figured it was the switch, but have never seen on get that hot. I thought I smelled something funny, but when the smoke started I knew I was in trouble. ALl I cousl picture was my XJ burning to the ground as I am running down this back road to find some one with a phone

Thanks again,

Josh

and dont forget to disconnect the positive cable on your battery :scared: :scared: :scared:

I thought I had small enough hands to get in there, but you have to have hands of a 12 year old kid to get in there. I found the button okay but it will not release the knob should I just pull with all I have?

Plus there is a spring back there, and that is what is getting hot, as after I tried to pull it out a few times it heated up and put a nice brand on my thumb. What is that spring? I think it is a spring at least as that is what it feels like.

Thanks for the help guys, new switch will be available tomorrow morning, and hope to be in soon, I found it easier to drop the lower trim panel.

The spring your feeling back there is the resistor for the dash lights (dimmer).
I replaced mine a while back (I have big hands). I ended up unscrewing the speedo cable from the frame (under the drivers floorboard). Taking the cover off of the dash, loosening the instrument cluster and sliding it out far enough (after lossening the speedo cable from the frame), to get at the switch from the top. While sliding out the instrument cluster, I had to help feed the speedo cable through the firewall grommet a bit.
Replaced all the instrument bulbs while I was in there, cleaned the slight oxidation off of the connectors at the back of the cluster ( a couple needed to be unplugged as the speedo/instrument cluster slide out).
Might be an easier way to do it, but this worked for me, without messing anything up. There is a speed sensor (I´d guess) between the cluster and the cable, that I had to twist some to clear the sheet metal.
After pressing the release button on the switch, I had to pull pretty hard, seemed to release easier if it wasn´t in the inside light (dome light) position.

The switch came out in about 5 peices, and I got the new one in in about 15, all in all not a bad job but you do need a few extra bends in your arm to do it with out a few knuckle scratches.

Thanks for all of you help

Josh