95 grand am guages

hey guys and gals. ive been havin some problems my my grand am. 1995 Pontiac Grand am Se to be specific. here recently the gauges on my dash have been actin funny. for starters my temp gauge used to set pretty at one point and now it fluxuates. when idling it will rise, and with acceleration, it goes down. also whenever i turn off my car, the temp and gas gauges do not go back to zero. they stay where they are when parked. when i turn the ignition on, they will go back to where they should be. thanks you all!

Welcome to AF !
What you are describing about the temp gauge, that can be normal when stop idling when the temps go up a little, the dradually drop as you drive. If it hasnt always done this it could indicate your cooling system isnt working 100%.

If your coolant isnt the color its supposed to be, probly green, then you should consider having it flushed and replenished with new coolant. Wouldnt hurt to change the thermostat while youre working on the system.
An automobile does need this done as time goes by, every 3-4yrs doesnt hurt.

About the other guage problem I'd start thinking about finding a new(or good used one) gauge cluster.
These are know to go bad and not work right.

Check ebay or salvage yards in your area.
Wrecked cars are great for parts,
if they hav been kept dry .

Good Luck

thanks for the help. i have my car in the shop currently and they should be checking my cooling system. so the fact that the gauges arent resetin could be due to the cluster? thanks for helpin!

No prob!
Yes those gauges from 94-96 are known to go bad and have the reading all screwy if any at all.
If you do a search inthe GA forum, you'll find quiet a few threads reffering to this problem.

Good Hunting

yeah, i tried skimming thru all the posts, i got to about the 30th page (of like 100) and i was like. . . maybe i should just ask. thanks for the assistance!

Temp and oil gauge stay in place when I shut down my 95, fuel always stays where it is, volt, tach and speedo drop to zero. Temp and oil go to zero when starting the car cold, temp (obviously) fluctuates on startup depending on the engine temp. As for the car running warmer at idle, as xeroinfinity said, have the cooling system flushed and checked. If the other gauges are not dropping to zero when you shut down, start looking. Make sure you get the right cluster, v6 clusters are different than quad clusters, and there are two different styles for each motor. Good luck.

I had a similar problem with a car I was working on in my shop. All the guages would jump around and after extensive searching I found that the airbag module under the passenger seat was getting wet for years from the bad water problem on many grand am/prix. And after a while the car wouldn't even start cause the module was shorting and the car tought someone was stealing it.It can be disconnected and everything should work normal again except you Won't HAVE AIRBAGS!