Saturn Repair: Smoke and smell from heat switch, saturn ls2, puff of smoke

Question
My daughter owns a 1994 Saturn Ls2 with 98,000 miles on it.  The car runs well and we have not had many problems with it.  About a month ago she noticed a puff of smoke coming out of the switch where you would turn the heat on and off.  There was also an electrical smell.  Both the heat and the airconditioner works fine.  Well it happened one more time this week and we brought it into the garage.  They recreated the problem (how I don't know) and told me I need a whole new heating control unit.  They said this part ran around $250.00 and the totla bill would be around $350.00.  He told me that it was not dangerous and it would be safe to drive the car because the unit would just burn itself out before it got dangerous.  So we decided to wait.  Since I picked the car up and paid the fee to have it looked at the problem is much worse and the car cannot even be driven.  Smoke just pours out around that switch.  Have you ever heard of this kind of a problem?  I never have with all the cars I have owned.  Should I have them investigate further or should I just have that unit replaced?

Answer
Karen,
If you are saying that a puff of smoke came from the blower motor (fan speed) switch, I would believe it.  If you believe that a faulty fan switch would cost you $350 to repair, you would be sadly mistaken.  If the fan switch was indeed the problem, it is available seperatly from Saturn.  It shouldn't cost more than $60 for the part and no more than that for labor.  The fan switch is the only electrical part of the entire Control Head (aside from the a/c and recirc buttons).  However, I do not think that the control head is your problem.  I have run into a few cases where a power wire running from the Instrument Panel Junction Block (black fusebox under a panel, next to where the passenger's left foot would rest) would short out. If the car does not start or run, I would almost bet that this is your problem.  When the problem is occuring, take a flashlight and shine it on the back of that fusebox (remove the driver's "batwing" cover, black triangle panel next to the driver's right foot area), and see if the smoke is originating from there.  You probably won't be able to see the wire that we are talking about, it is inside a wiring harness.  However, you will be able to see smoke comming from that harness.  The wire that we are speaking of is a power wire that supplies voltage to the fusebox.  It comes directly off of the underhood fuse box on a 30-amp maxi-fuse.  That is why the problem keeps occuring.  Anyway, I wish you the best of luck.  If the wiring harness is indeed bad, the repair bill could be very expensive.  The last wiring harness job I did on that type of car cost a customer almost $1300.  Next time you go to a garage, make sure you get all your facts (like you're doing now), and make sure you take the vehicle to someone with the knowlege and tools to do the job.  Best of luck!
Chris Greiner