Temp guage question...what gives ????
'xacly. And while you're at it, what year/ make/ model AND engine, "we" don't know if you're workin' on a 53 Dodge swap or a 2020 Pree *** conversion, 'er what
When you find the sender, remove the wire. Gauge should remain at cold. try grounding the wire, turn on ignition and it should head quickly for hot. Don't leave it on long. If it passes these two tests, you probably have a bad sender.
If it still heads for the hot zone when disconnected, you have a wiring problem. It's one wire from the sender to one terminal of the gauge, so you'd have a short somewhere. Most likely I'd say is something that got hot out in the engine room