Temp guage question

Where should the needle be when the engine is warmed up?

about where should it be when the rad fans kick on?

Im asking this because on my 99 plymouth neon (SOHC) the needle sits right on the edge of the normal line (close the the cold end of the gauge) and when the rad fans kick on it goes just slightly above the first normal line (still close to cold)

I get great heat, the rad fans do come on.

all my other gauges work just fine. but i havent pulled them to see if someone has soldered them.

Bad coolant temp sensor?
Gauges need soldering?



also forgot to add, when i start it up (cold start) it seems to run rich till it starts to warm up and also even when warm it seems to crank over longer than my last neon. don't know if this is related or not.

Yes the sensor could be a problem, I had a vehicle do the exact same thing with the gauge, it wasn't operating at the normal range it was too low like you said. I checked for trouble codes and that was the problem. Changed the sensor and now it runs perfect. Is your check engine light on?

On my '98 DOHC, MTX the gauge has always read just below half way, heat is great and all systems work fine, I would not worry about the gauge.

No CEL light.

and im little worried about the gauge as my last neon liked to overheat sometimes in the summer.