850 GLT ac blower woes

ok, ac blower has been "possesed" for about 3 months: will cut out and not
blow occasionally (once a week) If I turned engine off and restarted would
usually run fine. (?) Last week however my wife was driving a noticed a
"whitish-yello puff of smoke out of the passenger-side dash a burned smell
and no blower. Could it be a fuse, frayed wiring?

 

Now I notice that if I turn the headkights on and the set the dash light
dimmer switch to it's brightest setting, the blower comes on. If I slide the
dimmer down, yes, the blower slows down and finally, if the dimmer is all
the way to off, the blower stops. I am wondering if this condition is safe
for the time-being or if I need to take it to the shop. Also, does anyone
know if this is something I could fix m'self. Any suggestions/info is
greatly appreciated. Thanks all.

 

It sounds like a ground problem. It sounds very serious. It could kill
you headlights at highway speeds when it is pitch black outside. I
would have it fixed very soon. It probably would be easy to fix if you
knew what to look for. The other symptoms you mentioned could be the
blower resistor pack.