Ok I have a 97 VW Camry, Wife says its been clicking sometimes before it starts.  after going about 15 miles this morning,  smoke from the hood,  near the  battery  and starter,  ,   smells like electrical wires,  I figure the battery took header,  I drop another in . wont start,  try jumping..  nope,  go to the store and get a brand new battery.  nothing.  I turn the key,  click  click goes the starter.   Can a starter light up when you drive down the road?  sc

As long as I put VW in front of the  car name , I usually get some responses.  sc

Sounds like you have a bad starter.   . . . wait . . . didn't you start a thread asking about a starter once before . . .  :lol:

I've had a starter on a Beetle go bad going down the road.  It was only about a month old and was working fine.  One day I had to go from Chickamauga to Fort Oglethorpe at lunch . . . I started fine but about a half mile up the road the engine started making a squeeling noise.  It kept getting louder and louder until about a mile into the Battlefield the engine locked up.  When I opened the deck lid, smoke was pouring out, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from.  It wasn't low on oil and dip stick was still cool.  I figured the engine had spun a bearing and locked down.

So, I got it towed home and pulled the engine out.  With the engine on the ground, you could turn it over by hand . . . when it was in the car it had locked so tight it locked the back tires down at 45 mph.  Turns out the solinoid had stuck and the starter was being spun by the engine . . . it didn't take long for it to have a melt down and lock the starter up.  With the gear still engauged in the flywheel, when the starter locked, the engine locked.

So, it's possible for a starter to go bad and start smoking going down the road.  Not very likely, but possible.