Occasional Smoke & Burning Smell: What to Do?

Hello, I've occasionally (with relatively large intervals) noticed a slight amount of smoke rising from behind the...
Steering wheel (Golf III TD, year 1997), where all the switches for turn signals and headlights are located. It also occasionally smells very burnt for a short time. Then, nothing for months. What could it be?

Hi, could you please remove the steering column switches and check to see where something might be burnt or melted.
If your car has a front airbag, disconnect the negative terminal of the battery first.
You then place the airbag with the emblem facing upwards somewhere, so that it doesn't fly 50 meters into the air if it deploys (although I've never actually experienced that).