DirtyCletus

I have a 97 Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4x4 with the V6. I purchased it back in August for $1000.00 when I purchased the jeep it had 208,000 miles on it give or take. When the doors are open the dome lights do not come on and turning the dome lights on does not make them come on either. When I turn on my head lights they work fine but after 20 minutes or so the dash lights start to flash and sometimes go out all together. This morning I went out to start my jeep to leave for work, it has been very cold so it usually takes a few cranks before she starts. I tried to start the jeep a few times and after a few cranks it would try to start but would not be able to. I was worried about killing the battery so I shut the car off and waited a little bit before trying again. I turned the and tried to start again then the dash blinked the doors tried to lock. There was also a clicking that sounded like a turn signal coming from under the dash. I checked to make sure that the turn signals were not on and they were not. I shut the car off, and turned the key back to the start position and there was nothing, not even a hint of trying to start. Dash lights were all lit up everything seemed to have full power. I then started to smell a electrical/burning smell and noticed smoke. I quickly shut the car off and popped the hood and disconnected the battery. Here are my questions

1. What do you think caused this mornings smokey issue?
2. What are some ideas to find out about dash lights going out?
3. Do you think the electrical issues before had anything to do with this morning?

Thanks for any help.

freegdr

Clean all ground wires you can find .