I have a 97 explorer with close to 212,000 kms on it. its a xl 4lt v6 4x4 (if any of that is necessary)
Ive noticed a burning plastic smell while driving and earlier today I started up my vehicle and a puff of smoke came up from the backside of the steering wheel.
I was just wondering if anyone had any ideas of what my issue may be
any help is appreciated. thank you very much

Are all your lights working and everything that is connected to the steering wheel? It almost sounds like wires got crossed or something.

as to my knowledge yes (i've currently parked the truck at my parents house and traded vehicles until I can get a hold of my mech)
however, I did have the DRL mod replaced like 2 weeks ago

It sounds dangerous. I think you are right to get your mechanic to inspect it before attempting to drive it again. Hopefully it will turn out to be something fairly simple and not too expensive to put right.

As soon as the problem arose I did park the vehicle. thank you all for your insight. i appreciate it

I believe that I would have parked it also. Did you ever find out what was up?

Yup, sounds like a wiring problem. My least favourite problem as they're horrid to trace sometimes - mind you, if you have smoke appearing it shouldn't be too hard to find the source once the housing is off!

i took it to my mechanic (it took forever to get it in D: )
he took apart my steering column and all underneath it and couldnt find any real source of problem.
He said my ignition was half plugged in, and it may have been the cause. but other then that Im pretty much going to have to let it fester and grow into a painfully expensive child.
However, havent had the problem since he worked on it. So *knock on wood* hopefully that was it.

On a even better note. I got him to change my shocks at the same time, so he only charged me for the labour on the shocks and not dismantling my interior. which was absolutely fantastic.

thanks for all your help, It was much appreciated!
Oh and sorry it took me so long to reply back!

Fingers crossed it was your ignition then. Like I said, wiring problems can be really hard to track down.