Question about temp guage

[Destron]

Hi, I have a 1995 Contour, Zetec.

When driving the car, I notice that the temp gauge hangs out in the neighborhood of the A, but sometimes climbs past the L and close to the end of the bracket, but then it will drop back down to around the A again.

Is this something I should be concerned about?

When I get to my destination I can hear the fan running when shut off the car so I know the fans are working, and the car does not "act" or smell hot, so I am not really sure if it is really getting hot or not or if the guage is just being funny.

Assuming the gauge is correct though, should I worry and if so what should I look at to find the culprit. As I said above, I know the fans work, and the heater blows hot air.

 

[BrApple]

as always the temp guage isn't calibrated per say. best you can do with a 95 is to get a inferred thermometer and check things out to confirm that everythign is running right or not.

you can check the temp before and after the thermostat as the car warms up. the stock thermostat will open at 190 degrees and you should see that is the upper radiator hose. then the low speed fan will kick on at 212 degrees, and will stay on intil the temp comes back to the thermostat temp.