Good Grief Jeff...... if you have a coolant problem you'd check the belts???
Wouldn't you tend to believe the sensor and simply verify the coolant flow
prior to questioning your instruments?

CM

"Jeff Morris" wrote in message
...
| Oh! The ENGINE temperature!
|
| Even if there is a cooling problem, the engine provides a significant
buffer, so
| if the fluctuation is fast, as in you actually see the needle move, its
probably
| a loose connection on the sensor, or some other such fault.
|
| If its a small engine with a large alternator it could be a slipping belt.
I've
| never seen a case where the coolant flow went up and down repeatedly but I
| suppose it could happen. Can a thermostat fail in this mode?