PLEASE HELP ME....so i can help my G/F

[DaBirdtsiawd]

My girlfriend owns a 96 Eclipse GS and she has just currently started running into a problem with the "tempature gauge"?

Durring normal driving the gauge would always go right to middle and the car would run just fine. Now the guage has started to fluctuate and rarely goes to the middle between Hot and Cold. Now its always at the middle or below. If someone could give me some ideas on what it is that i could check to see where this problem is comming from, i would greatly appreciate it. Thanks

P.S. A friend of mine with car expierence suggested a new thermostat, but i wanted to check with the DSM community first (he's a rotary owner)

 

[jpolizo]

Yeah, it could be the thermostat is stuck open.

Is the coolant level normal? Do you see flow in the coolant reservoir with the engine at idle and normal operating temperature (be extremely careful when you look for this -- take the cap off with the engine stone cold, start it and carefully watch to see what happens; don't stick your face over the reservoir). Another thing to do is stick a cooking thermometer into the coolant reservoir and watch what happens as the engine warms up. It should suddenly increase to some value right around your thermostat rating.

Be careful with temp fluctuations, it can sometimes mean more serious issues.

 

[jott5555]

is the gauge messing up or is the car overheating? its probally a temp sensor somewhere mine did that it had a bad temp sensor check it out

 

[Defiant]

Temperature sender.