65 Riviera "HOT" lamp indicator keeps coming on.

[Guest]

I'm pulling my hair out on this one. My 65 Riviera has always run like a champ. All of a sudden the "HOT" lamp on the dash has come on, telling me that the car is heading towards overheating, but I have checked everything, the radiator, coolant, thermostat is new, and the car has not officially overheated. The lamp comes on after about 10 minutes of driving.<P>Since there is no temp readout, only the "hot" light, how do I know if the car is actually overheating, or the gauge is malfunctioning? Anyone else had this problem?<BR>Thanks.

[fordee9r (Ron Springstead)]

In my shop I use a thermometer made for diagnosing heating and air conditioning problems. It is a dial with a metal rod sticking out of its back and is available for a few bucks at any auto parts store selling A/C parts. <P>Before you start the car, remove the radiator cap and stick the rod down into the coolant. Start the engine and monitor the temperature when the light comes on.<P>You've probably got a corroded or bad switch that controls the light. <P>Hope this helps.

[Guest]

Ron,<BR>Thanks for your reply. I replaced the temp. sensor, and the light is now off. The only thing is that the new temp sensor is not identical to the original. Maybe the design has just changed over the years. Hope it's the right one.