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One wire or two? If only one wire, there should be voltage there. If there is voltage and the connector is unplugged, the gauge should read cold. If you ground the connector, the gauge should read hot. If not, there is a wiring/gauge problem. If a two pin connector, one wire should also have power. Jump both wires together and the temp gauge should go to hot if the wiring is good. If not, there is a gauge/wiring problem
If the gauge does not go back to cold when the engine is cold, it could be the gauge on the dash. I am assuming the gas gauge drops with the key off. You could unplug the temp sensor on the engine to see if it makes any difference.
Air pockets will make the guage do that, and also cause your heat to come and go. Also, a poor radiator, as in rotting, or plugged up, will cause high temperature issues.
I really would like some clarification on that. If your inside gauge seems to read cold for a while and then just goes hot it generally means either the gauge is sticking or much more likely the thermostat is sticking because it is about to go bad. Actually it has gone bad already if it is staying closed. Now most thermostats have a little bypass hole to let air and small amounts of water through to circulate all the time. this allows the hot water to actually reach the thermostat when it is mounted somewhat from the heat source. If that hole becomes plugged it will give the same effect since the entire engine has to get hot before the thermostat can even start opening. Once it starts opening it gets a rush of super hot water that slams it wide open. If you don't notice any problems with the engine like water boiling over or any other strange behavior then it is likely the actual gauge in the dash sticking or the sensor malfunctioning. What you want to do is take a laser temp gauge and get a temp reading off the radiator when the engine is reading hot. this will give you an idea whether or not it is lying to you. bring it over and ill lend you mine. ;)
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