96 Tracer temp gauge

ive got a 96 mercury tracer so i thought i would post this here as well as the mercury forum. my temp gauge just quit working. anyone else had this problem? and what could i easily check under the hood for a problem? loose wire? bad sensor? any help would be much appreciated.

could be the thermostat or the relay.. or even the gage its self but most likly jus the thermostat cheap and quick to change.