does your overflow tank have any coolant in it?

yep its full to the max line.

check the sensor and plug thats going in to the overflow tank. i cant remember if there is one

+1 yes the 1g has one - check it.

ya i planned on it as soon as the sun comes up i work nights so its kind of a pain when its time to repair or do maintainence to the ever needy dsm.

sounds like a bad temp sensor

just checking that the one on the t-stat housing correct? if so ive already changed it with a known good one due to broken connectors

got it fixed the connector on the wire harness side was gone but the wires were there so i just cut the connector off the bottle side and hard wired it. i guess the wires were just grounding out on the frame.

+1 for the bad temperature sensor

well it doesnt matter for the time being on my way home from the store the timing belt decided to break. looks like a good time to change that head gasket and peak inside the engine while im at it. hell i might as well change the oil pump while im at it. glad ive tore into these little 1.8 motors before