Why does Temperature gauge reads hotter then normal but engine temp. is ok

I suggest changing the cooling thermostat to make sure it's not getting stuck causing temporary overheating and flush the system and put fresh coolant in.
The guage will go hotter then go back to normal every time the thermostat opens to let cooled water into the engine block which is normal. Time for concern is when the guage goes hot and stays there along with bubbling sounds and coolant overflow onto the ground. Which you probably already know.

It is likely that the thermostat is stuck open. Remove and replace. They are very inexpensive.

I'll put my bets on a faulty gage...but that's just me.

fans came late on those car,like 212 and second fan comes on at 224,you reprogram it to come a lot sooner,,other thing is there might be gunk inside the block,and coolant has hard time to pass through,and staying longer than enough in block temp goes high,even tough the radiator is doing it's job,it is just coming out block lot hotter than it suppose to be,and gauge read the block not the radiator

Is there a vast difference in the temperature between the upper and lower radiator hoses? If there is then you should check out the water pump (since you already changed the thermostat).

The range should be in the temp range of your thermostat within in a few degrees, you probably have a 190 degree thermostat. As the outside (ambient) temp rises it's normal for the engine to run a little hotter 200 degrees is safe with coolant, water boils at 212. Your fans should cycle, so it sounds like your temp sensor is faulty. if you haven't flushed your radiator and changed your thermostat lately, now would be a good time to do so. Hope this helps,

The thermostat is on top of the engine, just aft of the upper radiator hose. The temperature sensor (first one, closest to the front of the engine) is the one responsible for the coolant temperature gauge. It's an NTC with two resistors in it - one for the sensor gauge, one for the ignition computer. There is a second one for the Luftmassenmesser Hidtstraht system, bottom right side under the intake manifold.

If you have a drop of anti-boil on the water pump - it is coming from the weep hole and this is indicative of failure of the internal seals on the pump and it must be replaced.

There is a possibility that the thermostat is stuck closed, which can be easily verified in cool weather by cool air coming out of the vents at normal operating temperature. Check the heater core hoses - one should be warm.

Be careful when working on the cooling system - it can scald when hot! Always work on it with the engine cool to the touch and never put cold anti boil in a hot engine.

Checking the temp sensor is easy - remove the connector and place a 68 ohm resistor across both terminals (or one to ground if it is a single spade connector). The temp gauge should read approximately 3/4 across the scale. Don't short it to ground as this could destroy the sensitive coil inside the sensor. If no reading occurs, then the gauge or wiring is broken.

It could be the impellor wearing out on the water pump, though I have not heard of this issue in your make of car, I have seen it first hand in other makes. The thermostat may not be opening up all the way, flow restriction,. The coolant temperture sensor could be going out, and the gauge in the dash could be going out. You could have flow restrictions else where in the engine. Have you ever had the engine flushed? these are the things that I can think of that would make your engine run hotter than normal.

250 DEGREES ENGINE GETTING TOO HOT.SOUND LIKE CLUTCH FAN FREEWHEEL.IF CLUTCH FAN DONT LOCK IN OR HAVE RESISTANCE TURNING BY HAND WHEN ENGINE HOT.FAN CLUTCH IS BAD.IF FAN CLUTCH OKAY COOLANT LEVEL CORRECT.I WOULD CHANGE THERMOSTAT FLUSH OUT ENGINE AND RADIATOR.IF ENGINE TEMPERATURE STILL READS 250 DEGREES OVER FLOW JUG OR RESERVOIR NOT BOILING OVER THE COOLANT TEMPERATURE SENSOR FAULTY.

My 2005 Nissan Sentra 1.8s with 55,000 mi. blows cold air from the heater. Coolant not circulating in engine. Lower hose stays cool to touch. Both heater hoses cold. Changed thermostat - didn't fix it. Coolant not leaking or dirty. None in oil - no oil in radiator. Changed worn water pump belt - pump spins freely with no noise or resistance. Cooling fans come on after warm-up. Temperature gauge stays in normal range then jumps to hot and back again. Coolant good to 10 below - didn't freeze here yet. No other problems or repairs to car. Afraid to drive and make worse. Help!