[best17driver]

The temp gauge on my dash only works part of the time. When it's not working it's pegged way over on the HOT side. The first time it did that I freaked out that it was over heating, but I soon found out it wasn't getting hot, the gauge just pegged cause it broke I guess. Now it only works if the car is running for long periods of time, like taking highway trips or something longer than in town driving.

Is this a common problem? Is the gauge bad? Or is the engine temp sensor itself bad?

Sometimes i can get the gauge to kick off and on by messing with the wiring under the hood. Any ideas?

[nick5m]

If the gauge changes in any way as you move wires around you more than likely have a short in the wiring. I would first start by looking over the wire harness between the PCM (computer) and your temp sensor (sense you said under the hood). Usually when there is a short to ground the PCM will think it's getting a wide open signal from the sensor and cause the gauge to show way over hot.

[best17driver]

Ok thanks. I'll look at that and see if there's a problem with the wiring