I am trying to replace a plain ceiling fan with a newer ceiling fan with a light. It is necessary for me to use a remote because the fan is about 15 feet in the air and am unable to use the controls through the pull strings. So, I bought a hunter fan and a Harbor Breeze in wall remote. I connected black to black, white to white, and blue to black/white striped for the transmitter and ceiling fan. I then tried to put the remote into the wall switch. There were no ground wires on the old switch, so I added my own. I connected the rest of the wires and when I turned the power back on and hit the light button, the box popped and soot flew out of it. Any suggestions?

Sounds like the problem is with you adding your own ground.

You likely fried the remote/receiver so I would take it back and get a new one.

If it is a metal box you do not have to worry about grounding, the box is grounded and so then the metal switch is too. You connect the new switch just like the old switch was connected.

http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com/ceiling-fan-wiring.php