I have 98 olds intrigue and the temp gage reads normal not hot but the light comes on so i look under the hood nothing hot except the top of the ac unit and its not even on

Do you have a temperature gage in your instrument cluster? When the temp goes cold, does the temp gage rise? Check your coolant level both in the radiator and the coolant recovery tank under the hood, and fill as necessary. If that is OK, then check your serpentine belt for wear and/or slippage around the water pump. Lastly, if you have a temp gage and are noticing fluctuations in the reading, you may need to replace your cooling system thermostat. Good luck.

on most cars if the temp sending unit goes bad the gauge reads as if the car is running hot. check sending unit before you waste more money.

Please click this LINK to read a great article on causes and fixes for overheating problems. I can't post it due to copyrighting. Also DO NOT RUN THIS ENGINE WHEN IT STARTS TO GET HOT YOU WILL SEVERLY DAMAGE IT.

Check to see if your electric radiator fan comes on when you are idling. You would be able to hear it if you open the hood. It should come on at around 200F and go off at 160-170F. If it is not working the car would heat to hot, when you are driving the air is forced thru the rad cooling off the antifreeze.

yes, normal temps for a car is around 170 - 210 degrees give or take depending on car. i wouldnt worry about it, please rate my answer.

Your electric fan is probibly not running.Fan switch,fan relay or the fan could be bad.If it is getting hot and you pop the hood you should hear the fan running.

you might need a new thermostat

sounds like a faulty sender unit not passing the right voltage which is causing the gauge to read high

have you checked the coolant level lately? it could be low

It sounds like you have an oil leak. The head gasget may not be blown, but if there is a leak in the oil system the exaust will be smokey from burning the oil. Keep an eye on the oil level and it appears to be lower than normal, then thats probably the problem.