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the temp gauge sends the power from the gauge to the sender unit which is a variable ground. That means that as the coolant heats up , the resistance in the sender is decreased and the current through the gage increases ans so the needle goes up
when that wire is shorting out some where the gauge will go to hot and when that short is removed the needle comes back down to cold
so that means that you will need to trace the wire along for where it is rubbed through or get an accredited auto electrician in to find the fault
Sounds like the water pump is cavitating . Replace water pump. Check coolant level also. Open the bleeder valve usually located on thermostat housing to remove air from system. close valve when coolant is present while filling. close radiator cap and top off recovery bottle to correct level. These engines are prone to overheating, do not let temp gauge get in the red.
If temp gauge is going into the red on a 3.4 engine it must be shut down or head damage can happen within minutes. I have a Monte Carlo that was overheating. I changed everything, thermostat, water pump, belt tensioner, radiator, all with no result. It would start out okay on a cold start but then I would come to a red light and the temp would creep up. Higher and higher until it neared the red zone. The heat would run cold. Most of the time, as soon as it was about to touch the red it would start to drop, the heat would blow hot again and all seemed okay but not for long. This would get worse and worse until the red hot light came on and I found myself on the side of the thruway. This problem is a blown head gasket. I had no other obvious signs, no white smoke from the exhaust, no oil in the antifreeze. I even changed the intake gaskets. Head gasket issues are common on the 3.4 liter engines.
YOU NEED BLEED COOLANT SYSTEM.CHECK COOLANT LEVEL IN RADIATOR.ADD MORE DEXCOOL UNTIL COOLANT LEVEL IS CLOSE TO RADIATOR SPOUT.CRANK ENGINE LET IDLE UNTIL TOP RADIATOR HOSE GET HOT.WATCH TEMPERATURE GAUGE.IF TEMPERATURE GAUGE START RISING TO HOT ZONE.TURN OFF ENGINE.LET COOL DOWN.USE LARGE RAG SLOWLY OPEN RADIATOR CAP A LITTLE AT A TIME UNTIL ALL PRESSURE RELIEVED.REMOVE RADIATOR CAP.ADD MORE COOLANT.CRANK CAR AGAIN LET IDLE UNTIL TOP RADIATOR GET HOT.KEEP EYE ON TEMP.GAUGE ALSO.WHEN TEMP.GAUGE STOP CLIMBING.YOUR COOLANT SYSTEM BLED.WHEN DONE LET CAR SET A WHILE CHECK COOLANT LEVEL.ALSO FIRST THING IN THE MORNING CHECK COOLANT LEVEL AGAIN.AND BESURE ADD COOLANT IN THE OVERFLOW JUG TO THE COLD MARK.DONT OVER FILL THE COOLANT RESERVOIR JUG.WORK SAFELY DONT GET SCALDED.
If the thermostat gauge does not move even after the vehicle has been 'on' for a long time, then there is a possibility that the gauge may be broken and may need replacement.
The other signs of the gauge needing replacement are- 1) gauge is in danger or red zone after starting the car (2) gauge moves from normal to cold within a few seconds when the car is idling (3) rapid fluctuation of gauge
my 528i does, or did the same thing. Overheating is bad for those aluminum cylinder heads. 1st, replace the coolant. Then check to see if the electric cooling fans work, or cycle on, they most certainly would have to cycle on when the temp gauge is in the red zone.
1st thing most people do is replace the thermostat. However, if the temp goes from overheating to not overheating in less than a minute, the thermostat is working. The key thing to look for is why did it get to the red zone in the first place.
When you say "red hot" do you mean actually glowing? If so, you'd have serious trouble. If you mean only hot to the touch, that's normal - these engines run pretty warm. And yes, the gauge in the center is normal - the OEM temp gauge is a dummy gauge, only meant to show you that it's either cold, overheated, or mainly OK. Use your oil temp gauge as your main indicator - at least it's graded numerically and you can actually see the oil temp.
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