89' Jeep Cherokee temp gage

I just bought an 89' Jeep Cherokee and do not have any manuals on it. I have noticed that the temp gage lights up red. What does this mean. The car is not overheating or anything and none of the other lights are on. This is a really dim red light that is in the background of the temp gage. I do not know if the dash has been replaced before, but i believe that it is the original. The speedometer works and so does all of the outside lights. If you know what this light is for or why the other gages do not light up please let me know.

Is the whole guage lighting up red? I've never heard of that... Does it do it all the time or just when you turn on the lights?

Is the whole guage lighting up red? I've never heard of that... Does it do it all the time or just when you turn on the lights?


It does it after the car warms up and then it stays on while we drive it. The car is not overheating however. The strange thing is that none of the other gauges do it.

I would suspect the sending unit is bad, on www.autozone.com it shows you how to test one, very simple and cheap to replace 14.00.
Try unplugging it, start it up and see if it comes one as soon as it starts of if it does not come on at all. Can not remeber if it is diconnected if it sends a hot or cold signal?