wierd electrical issue. voltage regulator??

hi all! heres the deal. I have a 70 el camino, 350 mostly stock. I am second owner and know for sure no wires have been cut anywhere. it's a virgin. I had a bad heater blower switch last year and replaced it with a copy from year one. seemed fine but 5 month's into it the 3rd position went out. I bought another, they're cheap, just haven't installed it yet. pain the but to get at. you know. well it started working again, and I don't know if this has anything to do with it but the switch lever gets real hot, almost like its drawing amps. I don't know ecactly when it began but now I notice a strange smell too and I won't leave it on too long. I had an elec. fire once that's enough never want that again. different car long ago. ok anyway, I recently noticed that even with the wipers heater and lights on the car still puts out 15-16 volts at idle. it used to always drop to 10 or so at idle. as long as I can remember I have had to keep the revs up at stop lights to keep the lights from dimming. I am almost certain my voltage regulator needs replacing, although the bad reg's I have had in the past have all created low voltage issues when they failed, this is the first high voltage issue. I guess the big question is if it is the volt reg, can this be the cause of my hot switch?? the other switches around it are normal. only slightly warm because the defrost ducts pass behind them. thank's in advance for your help, mike